DANCE-CAROL  OF  THE  EVERGREEN 

So  we  will  sing  our  even-song 
And  dance  for  thee,  like  king  and  queen, - 
O  Evergreen,  dear  Evergreen! — 
To  make  thy  heart  be  merry. 


(Page  42) 


The 
EVERGREEN  TREE 


by 
PERCY  MACKAYE 


D.   APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 

1917 


Copyright,  1917,  by 
PERCY  MACKATB 


All  Rights  Reserved 


NOTE:  For  Information  concerning  Permission  to 
produce  this  Masque  or  to  read  it  in  Public,  see 
ANNOUNCEMENTS,  on  page  81  of  this  volume. 


Print«d  in  ih«  United  State*  of  America 


The 
EVERGREEN  TREE 


A  Masque  of  Christmas  Time  for 
Community  Singing  and  Acting 


by 
PERCY  MACKAYE 


With  Scenic  and  Costume  Designs 

by 
ROBERT  EDMOND   JONES 


Together  with 
THREE  MONOGRAPHS  ON  THE  MASQUE 

written  by 
the  Author,  the  Scenic  Designer, 

and 

ARTHUR  FARWELL 
Composer  of  the  Music 


C.7 


To 


THOSE  FRIENDLY  THOUSANDS 

OF  MEN,  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN 

IN  AMERICAN  TOWNS  AND  CITIES,  WHO  HAVE 

SHARED  WITH  THE  AUTHOR  IN  His  MASQUES 

A  COMMON  DEVOTION  TO  THE  HAPPY  CAUSE 

or  A  COMMUNAL  ART 


THIS  MASQUE  is  DEDICATED 
IN    CHRISTMAS    FELLOWSHIP 


PREFACE 

Always  an  evergreen  tree  points  up  at  a  star. 

Always  a  star  looks  somewhere  down  on  the  cradle 
of  a  child. 

Always,  once  in  the  year,  a  child  laughs  up  at  ever 
green  boughs. 

Tree,  star  and  child  are  triune  in  the  poetry  of 
nature — a  constellation  of  man  that  never  sets. 

The  antic  mirth,  the  naive  awe  of  paganism,  the 
joy  and  passion  of  Christianity,  are  masks  happy  and 
tragic  which  the  Folk  Spirit  of  childhood  has  worn  for 
ages,  and  shall  wear  for  ages  more,  in  ritual  of  a  tree 
that  never  dies. 

On  the  verge  of  No-Man's-Land,  where  the  blasted 
earth  reels  amid  war's  stench  and  thunder;  in  calm 
cathedrals,  to  carolling  choirs;  by  lonely  chimney 
sides,  or  amid  the  young,  tense  assemblies  of  army 
camps,  Christmas — this  Christmas  of  our  new  age — 
grows  again  in  the  ancient  greenness  of  a  little  tree. 

How  may  we,  too,  do  it  homage? 

Not  forgetting  the  old  simple  merriment  of  folk  days 
gone  by,  how  shall  we  say — and  sing — to  our  tree 
something  of  that  deep  response  which  we  feel  to-day 
to  the  creative  sadness  of  our  time? 

Our  young  men  are  going  out  to  the  war:  our  country- 
is  grappling  the  issue  of  a  planet.  Here  is  a  dramatic 
conflict,  not  for  us  as  spectators,  but  as  participants. 
Here  is  a  theme,  not  of  the  traditional  theatre,  but  of  a 

xi 


PREFACE 


communal  drama,  the  action  of  which  is  at  once  a 
battle  and  a  prayer.  How  may  we  take  part  together 
in  expressing  such  a  theme,  at  this  new  Christmas  time? 

Surely  it  must  be  through  some  simple  festival — 
chiefly  of  song,  for  song  is  elemental  to  us  all:  a  festival 
in  which  our  people — young,  old,  rich,  poor,  women, 
men,  but  chiefly  our  young  soldiers — may  share,  out 
doors  or  indoors,  in  a  ritual,  democratic  and  devo 
tional,  on  a  scale  great  or  small,  simple  to  act  and 
symbolize:  a  drama  not  designed  for  a  hollow  amphi 
theatre  of  spectators,  but  for  a  level-floored  cathedral 
of  communicants:  a  drama  in  which  the  goal  of  world 
liberty  we  battle  for  is  clearly  contrasted  with  its 
opposite,  that  we  ourselves  may  not  lose  sight  of  our 
goal  or  swerve  from  it,  as  our  common  prayer,  in  the 
midst  of  battle.  And  there,  as  the  focus-point  of  our 
festival  and  symbol  of  it — the  tree  of  light:  light  of  our 
own  childhood  and  of  the  world's. 

I  do  not  know  whether  this  simple  masque  will  prove 
worthy  to  help  in  creating  such  a  festival  for  our  new 
Christmas  time — I  can  only  wish  and  hope  that  it  may. 

PERCY  MACKAYE. 

Cornish,  New  Hampshire, 
September,  1917. 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTORY 

PAGE 

DEDICATION ix 

PREFACE xi 

LIST  or  ILLUSTRATIONS xiv 

PERSONS  AND  GROUPS xv 

CHORUSES  AND  CAROLS xvi 

THE  COMMUNITY  CHORUS xvii 

TIME  AND  PLACE xvii 

QUOTATION  FROM  ST.  MATTHEW xviii 

TEXT  OF  THE  MASQUE  IN  TWELVE  ACTIONS 

I.  "WHO  KEEPETH  WATCH?" i 

II.  THE  LANTERN  IN  THE  DESERT 9 

III.  "SOMEBODY  is  COMING!" n 

IV.  THE  LIGHT-CHILD 14 

V.  " SWORD  OF  THE  WORLD" 21 

VI.  THE  BEFRIENDING 28 

VII.  THE  THREE  WISE  MEN 31 

VIII.  "WHICH,  O  LORD,  is  WISEST?" 34 

IX.  OUTCASTS 44 

X.  THE  WOUNDED  PEDLAR 48 

XI.  THE  PERSECUTING  HOST 53 

XII.  THE  MORNING  STARS 54 

COMMENTARIES 

COMMUNITY  PRELUDE 69 

COMMUNITY  EPILUDE 72 

THREE  MONOGRAPHS: 

I.  DRAMATIZING  COMMUNITY  SONG,  BY  PERCY  MAC- 

KAYE 73 

II.  COMMUNITY  Music  AND  THE  COMPOSER,  BY  ARTHUR 

FARWELL 77 

III.  DESIGNS  FOR  "THE  EVERGREEN  TREE,"  BY  ROBERT 

EDMOND  JONES 78 

ACTION  OF  "THE  EVERGREEN  TREE" 80 

ANNOUNCEMENTS  CONCERNING  Music  AND  PRODUCTION..  .  81 

xiii 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

/.  SCENES 
DANCE-CAROL  OF  THE  EVERGREEN Frontispiece 

FACING   PACE 

THE  LIGHT-CHILD 16 

SWORD  OF  THE  WORLD 24 

THE  THREE  WISE  MEN 32 

OUTCASTS 44 

THE  PEDLAR-KING 62 

THE  MORNING  STARS 66 

IT.  GROUND-PLAN 69 

///.  COSTUMES 

GNOME,  TREE,  ELF 78 

BEAR,  WOLF,  LION 78 

JOSEPH,  MARY,  SHEPHERDS 78 

HOST,  HEROD,  CAPTAIN 78 

BELSHASAR,  CASPAR,  MELCHIOR 78 

FOLLOWERS  OF  BELSHASAR,  CASPAR,  MELCHIOR 78 

SORROW,  SONG,  DEATH,  POVERTY 78 

RUTH,  CLAUS,  CHILDREN,  CHORUS  B 78 


xiv 


PERSONS  AND  GROUPS 
In  the  Order  of  their  Appearance 

PERSONS* 

ELF 

GNOME 

TREE 

WOLF 

BEAR 

LION 

JOSEPH 
MARY  (Mute) 
SHEPHERD 

CAPTAIN  OF  THE  HOST  OF  HEROD 
HEROD 

BELSHASAR 

MELCHIOR 

CASPAR 

RUTH 

CLAUS 

SONG  (Mute) 

SORROW  (Mute) 

DEATH 

POVERTY  (Mute) 

GROUPS 

SHEPHERDS 
HOST  OF  HEROD 

FOLLOWERS  OF  THE  THREE  KINGS 
OUTCASTS:    FOLLOWERS    OF    SONG,    SORROW   AND 
POVERTY 

*  For  Army  Camp  productions,  in  camps  where  it  may  not  be  practicable 
to  have  women  as  acting  principals,  the  two  mute  female  figures,  MARY 
and  SONG,  may — if  necessary — be  omitted,  and  RUTH  be  acted  by  some 
well-skilled  youth,  as  was  the  custom  in  Elizabethan  days.  The  part  of 
TREE,  in  any  production,  may  be  acted  either  by  a  young  woman  or  by  a 
young  man  (in  small-scale  productions  preferably  by  a  young  woman). 
ELF  and  GNOME  are  preferably  acted  by  children:  a  girl  and  a  boy,  or — 
if  desirable — by  two  boys.  In  Chorus  A,  and  in  the  first  Semi-Chorus  of 
the  Outcasts,  choir  boys  may,  if  need  be,  take  the  places  of  women. 

xv 


CHORUSES  AND  CAROLS 


CHORUSES* 


First  Action 
Fourth  Action 
Fourth  Action 
Fifth  Action 
Fifth  Action 
Fifth  and  Eleventh 
Sixth  Action 
Ninth  Action 
Twelfth  Action 


I.  (A,i) 

II.  (A,2) 

III.  (A,3) 

IV.  (B,i) 

V.  (A,4  B,2) 


Chorus  of  the  Wilderness. 
Light  of  the  World. 
The  Star. 

The  Might  of  Herod. 
The  Wrath  of  Herod. 


VI.  and  X.  (B,3  and  4)      Song  of  the  Persecuting  Host. 

VII.  and  VIII.  (A, 5  and  6)  Glory  and  Serenity. 
IX.  (A,;)  Dirge  of  the  Outcasts. 

XI.  (A,8  and  6,5)  Chorus    of    the    Christmas 

Tree. 

Part    I:  The  Pedlar-King. 
Part  II:  The  Tree. 
Part  III:  The  Child. 


CAROLS* 

Second  Action  I.  Joseph's   Carol. 

Third  Action  2.  Fairy  Round. 

Fourth  Action  3.  Luck  Song. 

Fourth  Action  4.  The  Tree-Child's  Lullaby. 

Seventh  Action  5.  "We  Three  Kings  of  Orient  Are." 

Eighth  Action  6.  The  Bell,  the  Sword  and  the  Laughter. 

Eighth  Action  7.  Dance-Carol  of  the  Evergreen. 

Tenth  Action  8.  Ballad  of  the  Kings  and  the  Pedlar. 


*In  modified  small-scale  productions  of  the  Masque,  where  it  may  be 
impracticable  to  render  all  the  music  in  its  completeness,  the  Carols  alone 
may  be  sung.  In  that  event,  the  Choruses  should  not  be  wholly  omitted, 
but  may  be  rendered  as  Choral  Poems  spoken  in  chanted  speech  by  properly 
qualified  leaders  (at  Stage  A  and  Stage  B),  as  indicated  in  the  "Guide  to 
the  Evergreen  Tree"  pamphlet,  referred  to  in  the  Announcements  on  the 
last  page  of  this  volume. 

xvi 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHORUS 
is  in  two  divisions,  as  follows: 

CHORUS  A,  in  White:  Men  and  Women:  located  near 
Stage  A. 

CHORUS  B,  in  Red:  Men:  located  near  Stage  B. 

TIME  AND  PLACE 

TIME 

The  Time  is  laid  on  a  night  shortly  after  the  birth 
of  Christ. 

PLACE* 

The  Masque  takes  place  in  Four  Regions,  indicated 
by  Two  Stages,  and  Two  Aisles,  the  Audience  being 
located  between  the  two  stages. 

Stage  A  represents  the  Place  of  Outcasts:  a  knoll, 
with  path,  in  the  Wilderness,  before  the  Evergreen  Tree. 

Stage  B  (located  opposite  Stage  A)  represents  the 
Place  of  Empire:  the  Gateway  and  Steps  to  the  Palace 
of  Herod 

Aisle  I  (located  on  the  right  of  Stage  B,  as  one  faces 
Stage  A)  represents  a  Pathway  from  the  land  of  Herod 
into  the  Wilderness. 

Aisle  II  (located  on  the  left  of  Stage  B  and  parallel 
to  Aisle  I)  represents  another  Pathway  into  the  Wilder 
ness. 


*  See  Ground  Plan  opposite  page  69. 
xvii 


From  the  Gospel  of  Saint  Matthew: 
Chapter  II 

Now  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of 
Judaea  in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king,  behold, 
there  came  Wise  men  from  the  east  to  Jerusalem, 
saying,  "  Where  is  he  that  is  born  King  of  the 
Jews?  for  we  have  seen  his  star  in  the  east,  and 
are  come  to  worship  him." 

When  Herod  the  king  had  heard  these  things, 
he  was  troubled.  .  .  . 

And  he  sent  them  to  Bethlehem,  and  said, 
"Go  and  search  diligently  for  the  young  child; 
and  when  ye  have  found  him,  bring  me  word 
again,  that  I  may  come  and  worship  him  also." 

When  they  had  heard  the  king,  they  departed; 
and  lo,  the  star,  which  they  saw  in  the  east, 
went  before  them,  till  it  came  and  stood  over 
where  the  young  child  was.  .  .  . 

And  being  warned  of  God  in  a  dream  that  they 
should  not  return  to  Herod,  they  departed  into 
their  own  country  another  way. 

Now  when  they  were  departed,  behold  an  angel 
of  the  Lord  appeareth  to  Joseph  in  a  dream, 
saying,  "Arise  and  take  the  young  child  and  his 
mother,  and  flee  into  Egypt,  and  be  thou  there 
until  I  tell  thee:  for  Herod  will  seek  the  young 
child  to  destroy  him." 

And  he  arose  and  took  the  young  child 
and  his  mother  by  night,  and  departed  into 
Egypt.  .  .  . 

Then  Herod,  when  he  saw  that  he  was  mocked 
of  the  Wise  men,  was  exceeding  wroth,  and  sent 
forth,  and  slew  all  the  children  that  were  in 
Bethlehem,  and  in  all  the  borders  thereof,  from 
two  years  old  and  under. 


rvm 


THE    EVERGREEN    TREE 


FIRST  ACTION 

("Who  Keepeth  Watch?") 

STAGE  A:   THE  PLACE  OF  OUTCASTS 

'T  is  night. 

In  a  dark  place  of  the  wilderness,  a  tree 
is  growing. 

Before  it  is  an  open  space  on  a  knoll,  from 
which — left  and  right — a  path  leads  down  away  into  the 
desert. 

At  one  side,  in  shadow,  sit  ELF  and  GNOME. 
At  centre,  in  starlight,  stands  TREE,  half  emerged  from 
dim  boughs. 

CHORUS 

Who  keepeth  watch  in  the  lone  wilderness  First  Chorus:  A,I 

For  the  coming  of  a  sign? 

Who  sendeth  her  roots  down  into  the  dark  places 

Seeking  the  springs  of  life, 

And  is  restored: 

And  lifteth  up  her  boughs  in  prayer  of  quiet, 

And  lo,  they  are  filled  with  starlight? 

The  Tree:    the  Tree  keepeth  watch  for  the  com 
ing  of  a  sign. 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


Who  waiteth  very  patiently  in  the  night  desert 

For  dawn  of  a  new  morrow? 

And  the  wild  beasts  draw  near  unto  her:  they  are  tired 

But  none  is  afraid, 

For  her  lap  is  like  to  a  mother's,  where  little  children 

Play  till  they  weary  and  sleep: 

There  dryads  bring  her  their  dreams, 

And  the  fairy  folk  are  at  home. — 

Who  liveth  very  old,  alive  with  young  green, 

And  waketh  her  heart  with  song  for  the  coming  of 

light? 

The  Tree:  the  Tree: 
The  Tree  keepeth  watch  in  her  heart  for  the  coming 

of  light. 

(A  long  wailing  cry  resounds  from  the  dark.) 

THE  VOICE 
Hi-ih! 

ELF 
What's  that? 

GNOME 

That  is  Wolf. 

He's  coming  from  the  desert.    He  is  lonely. 

ELF 
Why  is  he  coming  here? 

2 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


GNOME 

Tree  is  here. 

All  the  creatures  come  to  Tree,  when  they  are  lonely. 

ELF 

Even  Tree  seems  lonely  to-night, 
With  eyes  that  look  far  away. — 
Tree,  what  are  you  watching  for? 

TREE 
A  star. 

ELF 

But  the  sky  is  rilled  with  starlight. 

TREE 

I  am  watching  for  a  new  star. 

I  have  been  waiting  for  it  a  long  while. 

I  think  I  shall  see  it  again  soon. 

GNOME 
Again? — Have  you  seen  it  before? 

TREE 

Yes:  once: 

One  night,  not  long  ago, 

I  saw  it  rising  in  the  east,  across  the  desert. 

It  made  a  path  of  wonderful  shining. 

Then  it  stood  still  in  the  sky — far  over  yonder! — 

And  seemed  I  heard  shepherds  singing. 

3 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


(WOLF  enters.) 
WOLF 

Hi-ili!  It's  a  cold  night. 

I  want  to  come  out  of  the  wind. 

GNOME 
Ask  Tree. 

WOLF 

High-ol   Green-and-alive ! 

Can  a  fellow  come  out  of  the  wind,  here? 

TREE 
Welcome,  Wolf. 

WOLF 
And  what  may  you  three  be  talking  about? 

ELF 
A  star. 

GNOME 
A  new  star  in  the  east. 

(Noises  of  puffing  and  growling  are  heard.) 

THE  NOISES 
Ooffl— Ah-yarrr! 

ELF 
Who  now? 

4 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


GNOME 

That's  Bear  and  Lion  coming. 
They're  tired  and  sleepy. 

(BEAR  and  LION  enter. 
Bear  carries  a  bee-hive;  Lion,  a  large  bone.) 

BEAR 
Ooff!  Ooff!  Where's  a  hollow  to  sleep  in? 

GNOME 
Ask  Tree. 

TREE 
Welcome,  Bear!  Break  a  bough  for  your  pillow. 

WOLF 

(Edging  away) 
Hi!  Not  my  tail! 

LION 

Ah-yarrrI  I'm  tired  of  killing. 
Where  can  I  bury  my  bone? 

GNOME 
Ask  Tree! 

TREE 

Welcome,  Lion.    Lay  your  head  on  my  roots  and  rest. 

5 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


LION 

Yarn !  It's  a  night  of  cold. 

You  kill  nothing,  Bear:  how  do  you  keep  so  fat? 

WOLF 

His  belly  is  full  of  wild  honey. — 
Here!  he's  soft  and  round: 
Keep  him  in  the  middle. 

BEAR 
Three  are  warmer  than  one.     Go  to  sleep. 

(WOLF  and  LION  lean  against  BEAR. 
Slowly  all  fall  into  slumber  and  low  snoring.) 

THE  THREE 
(Murmuring  together) 

Hi-yo!— Ooff!  Ooff!— Ah-yarrr! 

ELF 
And  why  do  you  wish  the  star  to  come,  Tree? 

TREE 
Because  of  my  dream. 

GNOME 
What  dream? 

6 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


TREE 

Because  I  have  dreamed  a  new  star  will  come  in  the 

night; 

And  will  gather  all  the  old  stars  out  of  the  heaven 
To  sparkle  upon  my  branches. 
And  there  they  shall  sing  all  together. 
And  in  the  midst  of  them  the  new  star 
Shall  laugh  aloud, 
Shall  laugh  like  a  young  child, 
And  my  boughs  shall  be  as  sheltering  arms  to  make 

him  a  home. 
And  there  we  shall  dwell  no  more,  dreadful  in  the 

desert, 
Where  wild  beasts  kill  one  another,  and  weary  of 

killing; 

And  there  shall  be  no  more  lonely  things; 
But  there  shall  be  carolling  of  stars  and  a  young  child's 

laughter; 
And  I  shall  be  the  angel  in  his  home. 

ELF 
The  wild  beasts  are  fast  asleep. 

GNOME 
Nothing  is  stirring  in  the  world. 

ELF 
Yes:  look!  I  think  I  see — 

GNOME 
Where? 

7 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


ELF 

Don't  you  see — there!  through  the  dark: 
It  is  moving  towards  us. 

GNOME 
I  think  I  hear  some  one  singing. 

ELF 
It  is  drawing  nearer. 

TREE 
O  my  dear  dream! 

ELF  AND  GNOME 
Is  it  the  new  star? 

TREE 

Yes;  but  it  has  fallen  down  out  of  the  heaven. 

It  has  made  itself  very  small  and  lowly. 

It  has  made  itself  into  a  little  lantern, 

To  light  the  feet  of  them  who  wander  in  the  wilderness, 

ELF 
See! 

GNOME 
Hark. 


SECOND  ACTION 

(The  Lantern  in  the  Desert) 

AISLE  I:  A  PATHWAY  INTO  THE  WILDERNESS 

'OVING  toward  the  Tree,  a  Procession  enters 
singing. 


First  comes  JOSEPH  in  white.  He  holds 
high  a  tall  staff,  from  which  a  swinging  lantern 
shines.  Behind  him  comes,  in  pale  blue,  MARY,  at 
tended  by  SHEPHERDS  in  white.  These  carry  lighted 
candles  and  long  crooks,  and  they  are  ranged  about  a 
MANGER,  borne  in  their  midst. 

JOSEPH 

As  Joseph  I  was  walking,  Carol  /. 

I  heard  an  angel  sing:  Joseph's  Car°l 

JOSEPH  AND  SHEPHERDS 

"  This  night  shall  be  the  birthnight 
Of  Christ  our  heavenly  King. 

His  birth-bed  shall  be  neither 

In  housen  nor  in  hall, 
Nor  in  the  place  of  paradise, 

But  in  the  oxen's  stall. 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


He  neither  shall  be  rocked 

In  silver  nor  in  gold, 
But  in  the  wooden  manger 

That  lieth  on  the  mould. 

He  neither  shall  be  clothed 
In  purple  nor  in  pall, 

But  in  the  fair  white  linen 
That  usen  babies  all." 

JOSEPH 

As  Joseph  I  was  walking 
Thus  did  the  angel  sing; 

JOSEPH  AND  SHEPHERDS 

And  Mary's  Son  at  midnight 
Was  born  to  be  our  King. 


THIRD  ACTION 
("Somebody  Is  Coming!") 

STAGE  A 

REE   and    the   FAIRIES   have  watched   and 
listened  eagerly. 


TREE 

(To  ELF  and  GNOME) 

Look,  look!  The  light  is  coming  here. 

Rouse  up  the  wild  beasts, 

And  let  us  make  a  welcome  for  these  wanderers. 

TREE,  ELF,  GNOME 
(Sing  in  a  round) 

Wolf,  Bear,  Lion!  Carol  2. 

Wolf,  Bear,  Lion!  Fairy  Round 

Are  you  awake  ? 
Are  you  awake  ? 

Somebody  is  coming! 
Somebody  is  coming! 
ii 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


LION 

(Waking  and  rubbing  his  eyes,  joins  in  the  round) 

Who  can  it  be  ? 
Who  can  it  be  ? 

BEAR 

(Rolling  to  his  feet  with  an  "Ooff !"  imitates  LION) 

Let's  go  and  see! 
Let's  go  and  see! 

WOLF,  BEAR  AND  LION 

(Scrambling  down  the  path) 

Hi-ih!  Ooff!  Yarrr! 

TREE 

Peace,  wild  folk!    Make  a  welcome  for  these  new 
comers. 

LION 
(Grinning  savagely) 

Welcome,  they  are!  My  mouth  waters  for  them. 

WOLF 
(To  LION) 

Hi!  Let  me  pass. 

I'll  pick  a  bone  with  you — after  the  meat's  gone. 

BEAR 

You  tajk  loud,  but  you  keep  your  tail  between  your 
legs. 

12 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


WOLF 

That's  more  than  you  can  do — with  yours! 

LION 
Now  for  a  new  kill! 


FOURTH  ACTION 

(The  Light-Child) 

APPROACHING-SPACE  and  STEPS  A;   Then,  STAGE  A 

PPROACHING  along  the  path,  JOSEPH  and 
his  GROUP  pause,  confronted  by  the  BEASTS. 


JOSEPH 
God  save  you,  Sir  Lion! 

LION 
Save  yourself,  Sir  Man — if  you  can. 

WOLF 
Look  sharp:  there's  more  there  behind. 

BEAR 
They  carry  a  trough  there.    What's  in  it? 

SHEPHERD 
Keep  off! — Aim  your  blows,  fellows:  strike! 

(The  SHEPHERDS,  with  their  crooks,  drive  back  the  BEASTS. 
JOSEPH  intervenes.) 

14 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


JOSEPH 

Stay,  good  Shepherds!   Put  away  your  crooks. 
Fear  nothing,  Mary. 

These  wild  folk  crave  our  leave  to  behold  the  Child 
And  do  Him  homage. 

LION 
Man-child ! — Yarn* ! 

JOSEPH 

(Pausing  before  the  Evergreen  Tree) 

Pray  you  set  down  the  manger.    Now,  Sir  Beasts, 
And  you,  Elf  Folk,  will  it  please  you  draw  near  and 
look  in? 

(On  either  side  the  SHEPHERDS  draw  back,  revealing  at  centre 
the  MANGER,  out  from  which  a  wonderful  glow  shines 
upward,  touching  the  faces  of  the  SHEPHERDS  and  hush 
ing  the  BEASTS  with  awe.) 

TREE 
The  light!  The  light! 

CHORUS 

Where  sleepeth  till  dawn-break  the  light  of  the  new  Second  Chorus:  A, 2 
morrow?  Light  of  th*  World 

Alleluia! 

Lo,  as  a  babe,  it  sleepeth  in  a  little  manger: 
Light  of  the  World!   Alleluia! 

The  dark  is  his  cradle; 
The  beasts  come  about  him; 
The  stars  in  their  watches 
Are  covered  with  cloud. 

15 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


Home  hath  he  none; 
The  desert  receives  him — 
The  place  of  outcasts 
And  lonely  things. 

No  sound  is  heard  there 
Save  shepherds  singing; 
The  lords  of  earth 
Avert  their  faces; 
Dark — dark  is  his  cradle. 

Yet  surely  will  dawn  break  with  light  of  his  new 
morrow: 

Alleluia! 
Yea,  for  the  babe  that  sleepeth  in  a  little  manger 

Is  Light  of  the  World:  Alleluia! 

(The  FAIRIES  and  BEASTS  peer  in  the  MANGER  with  awed 
delight.    Murmuring  aloud,  they  speak  to  JOSEPH.) 

ELF 
May  we  not  dance  for  him? 

GNOME 
And  make  gambols? 

LION 

May  I  give  him  my  bone?     'Twill  make  him  a  rare 
toy! 

BEAR 

Ooff ! — If  he  lie  in  my  lap,  my  fur  will  warm  him. 

16 


THE  LIGHT-CHILD 

CHORUS 

Where  sleepeth  till  dawn-break  the  light  of  the  new  morrow? 

Alleluia! 

Lot  as  a  babe  it  sleepeth  in  a  little  manger: 
Light  of  the  World/    Alleluia! 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


WOLF 
Look-ee!  If  I  wag  my  tail  for  him,  he  will  laugh. 

JOSEPH 
Hush!  He  is  asleep.    Please  do  not  wake  Him. 

(The  BEASTS  draw  back. 
Kneeling  down  with  ELF  and  GNOME,  all  Five  sing  together.) 

THE  BEASTS  AND  FAIRIES 

While  this  Light-Child  sleeping  lies,  Carol  3. 

Word  or  murmur  never  wake  him!  Luck  Son5 

But  when  he  shall  open  his  eyes, 
Mirth  and  antics  we  will  make  him. 
Amen! 

JOSEPH 

Thank  you,  friends,  for  your  courtesies; 

But  now  the  night  grows  old,  and  we  are  weary  of 
wandering. 

Out  of  the  land  of  Herod  we  are  fled,  and  go  into  Egypt. 

Mary  and  Joseph  are  we,  and  Jesus,  the  little  Child, 

Whom  these  good  Shepherds  bear  with  us  in  his  birth- 
cradle. 

Now  we  must  needs  find  shelter  for  the  babe  to  rest. 

TREE 

Now  welcome,  Mary  and  Joseph,  and  Jesus,  the  little 

Child! 
Rest  you,  I  pray,  with  these  Shepherds,  under  my 

boughs. 

17 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


JOSEPH 
Gentle  Tree,  you  say  kindly. 

SHEPHERD 
(To  MARY,  with  gladness) 

Here  Herod  can  never  harm  Him,  Lady  dear. 

TREE 
Who  is  Herod,  that  he  would  harm  a  little  child? 

JOSEPH 

Herod  is  lord  of  the  world — there,  in  the  land  we  have 

fled  from. 

Mighty  is  he,  yet  afraid:  for  out  of  the  east 
Three  Wise  Men  followed  a  star  to  this  poor  manger, 
Telling  Herod  a  little  child  should  inherit  his  kingdom. 
Mighty  is  Herod,  yet  trembles  now  on  his  throne, 
And  wishes  this  Little  One  death. 

SHEPHERD 
But  shall  never  find  Him! 

JOSEPH 

Nay,  for  none  in  Herod's  kingdom  knows 
Where  Child  and  Mother  and  Manger  and  guiding  Star 
Are  vanished  away.    Only  you,  dear  folk  of  the  desert, 
Share  now  our  secret. 

TREE 

And  shall  ward  it  full  well. 

So  enter  into  my  shelter,  with  your  good  Shepherds, 

Joseph  and  Mary  and  Manger-Child — and  rest. 

18 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


(TREE  and  MARY  pass  behind  within  shadow.  As  the 
SHEPHERDS  with  the  MANGER  follow,  a  sweet,  lulling 
VOICE  sings  from  within.) 


THE  VOICE 


Babe  of  my  love,  Carol  4. 

7-77,7        ,  ,,  The  Tree-Chiles 

Lull  thee  to  rest!  Lullaby 

Bird  of  my  heart, 
Night  is  thy  nest. 

Evergreen  bough. 
Shadow  my  babe! 
Shelter  my  bird, 
Evergreen  bough! 


Star  of  my  dreams, 
Soon  thou  wilt  shine: 
Dream  of  the  stars, 
Splendor  be  thine! 

Evergreen  bough, 
Shine  with  my  Star! 
Shelter  his  dreams, 
Evergreen  bough! 


(JOSEPH,   pausing   a   moment   before   he  follows,   speaks    to 
his  lantern.) 

19 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


JOSEPH 

Now  lantern,  that  dost  hide  His  holy  light, 
Show  forth  on  high  thy  little  Master's  star! 

(He  blows  out  the  lantern. 

Instantly  a  shining  Star  appears  on  the  top  of  the  Tree. 
Staring  upward  with  gestures  of  surprise,  the  CREATURES 
murmur  aloud.) 

BEASTS,  ELF  AND  GNOME 

The  star!  The  star! 

(In  wonder,  while  the  CHORUS  sings,   they  follow  after  the 
others.) 

CHORUS 

Third  Chorus:  A,  3.  Where   shiuetk   in   whiteness   the   star   of  the   new 

The  Star 

Master? 

Alleluia! 

Lo,  from  the  tree  that  sheltereth  a  child9 s  dreaming 
Shineth  His  star:  Alleluia! 


FIFTH  ACTION 

("Sword  of  the  World") 

STAGE  B:  THE  PLACE  OF  EMPIRE 

'ATEWAY  and  Steps  in  front  of  HEROD'S 
Palace. 

With  spears  and  in  armor,  the  CAPTAIN 
and  the  HOST  OF  HEROD  are  assembling. 
With  deep,  pounding  reverberation,  VOICES  of  the  male 
CHORUS  conflict  with  the  far,  high  singing  of  the  other 
CHORUS,  now  dying  away. 


CHORUS 

Herod— Herod— Herod— Herod,  the  mighty  fourth  chorus:  B,I 

T       7      /.,/  77,  The  Might  of  Heroo 

Lord  of  the  world! 

Hail  him,  hail  him,  hail  him  Herod  the  Master! 
Bow  to  his  will! 

His  power  what  star  can  confound? 
Or  cloud  can  darken  his  splendor, 
Who  bindeth  his  brow  with  the  lightning 
And  girdeth  his  loins  with  the  storm! 
21 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


For  he  maketh  the  world  of  men 

The  winnowing  floor  of  his  glory: 

And  he  weareth  the  mail  of  the  Most  High, 

And  shareth  the  mantle  of  God. — 

Millions  obey  him, 
Man  is  his  tool. 

Forth  on  his  errands 
Fly  his  red  legions; 
Domes  of  his  dwelling 
Glow  in  the  dawn. 

Fire — -fire 
Forgeth  his  empire; 
Slaves — slaves 
Rear  his  dominion; 
Sowing  and  harvest 
Bleed  in  his  furrows; 

Peace  is  his  footstool, 
War  is  his  crown, 

Herod — Herod — Herod — Herod,  the  mighty 
Lord  of  the  world! 

(Beside  the  gate,  the  CAPTAIN  of  the  HOST  strikes  a  deep- 
toned  gong  and  calls  aloud.) 

CAPTAIN 

Herod!  Herod,  the  most  High! 

22 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


(HEROD  comes  forth  with  his  Followers. 

Clad  in  long  robe  of  Tyrian  purple,  he  wears  on  his  head 
a  gold  helmet. 

In  his  hand,  he  holds  a  great  staff,  surmounted  by  a 
globe  of  the  world.) 

HEROD 
Who  calls  so  loud  at  my  gate? 

CAPTAIN 
I,  Captain  of  the  Host  of  Herod. 

HEROD 
Why  do  you  cry  on  my  name? 

CAPTAIN 

For  I  am  come  at  your  bidding,  King  of  Men. 
Lo,  we  are  here  to  do  your  command. 

HEROD 

My  command  I  gave  you,  to  bring  unto  me  three  Wise 

Men, 
Kings  of  the  East.    Show  them  before  me  now. 

CAPTAIN 

Most  High,  they  are  not  here.     We  have  made  far 

searching 
But  they  are  vanished  away. 

HEROD 
Where  are  they  gone? 

CAPTAIN 

No  man  has  seen. 

23 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


HEROD 
Where  shines  their  star? 

CAPTAIN 
Heaven  has  no  sign. 

HEROD 
Where  was  he  found — the  child  they  worshipped? 

CAPTAIN 
Lowly  he  lay,  in  a  poor  manger. 

HEROD 
Now  bring  him  before  me ! 

CAPTAIN 
He  too  has  departed. 

HEROD 

My  command!  My  command!  My  command! 
Have  ye  not  slain  him?    Speak! 

CAPTAIN 

Herod,  most  High,  how  shall  the  vanished  be  slain? 
No  sign  gives  us  token 

Where  child  and  mother  and  manger  and  guiding  star 
Are  vanished  away. 

HEROD 

Powers  of  my  crown  and  throne !  Am  I  not  Herod, 
Herod,  the  Mighty?  Who  shall  defeat  my  power? 

(Close  by,  from  the  Place  of  Empire,  deep  CHORAL 
VOICES  reiterate  HEROD'S  boasts  of  triumph;  far 
off,  from  the  Place  of  Outcasts,  they  are  answered  in 
antiphony  by  high,  sweet  CHOIRS,  affirming  his  defeat.) 

24 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


CHORUS  B 

Herod,   our  lord  and  king!    Who  shall  defy  his  Fifth  Chorus: 
command?  «*£?? 

The  Wrath  of 
Herod 
CHORUS    A  B,2,  Reiterative 

A  star!  A  star  shall  confound  him.  A,  4,  Antiphonai 

HEROD 

Am  I  the  Sword  of  the  World,  and  shall  a  weakling 
disarm  me? 

CHORUS  B 

How  shall  the  crook  of  a  shepherd  shatter  the  sword  B,  2,  Reiterative 
of  a  king? 

CHORUS  A 
A  child!   A  child  shall  disarm  him!  A,  4,  Antiphonai 

HEROD 

Hath  God  anointed  me,  yea,  and  shall  a  babe  disin 
herit? 

CHORUS  B 

Lo9  shall  the  light  of  a  manger  outshine  his  glory  B,  2,  Reiterative 
of  palaces? 

CHORUS  A 

A  dream!  A  dream  shall  survive  him!  A, 

25 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


HEROD 

Now,  by  my  host  of  power !  he  shall  not  escape  me — 

This  babe  low-born,  but  for  his  sake  shall  all 

The  hosts  of  childhood  perish.    Go  forth  and  slay  them, 

All  newly  born  of  women,  that  he  among  them 

May  not  escape,  and  all  who  shall  resist 

My  power,  young  men  or  old,  brothers  or  fathers, 

Destroy  them  likewise — yea,  with  red  fire  and  spear 

And  burning  sword-blade.     Go !   My  will  is  God's, 

For  I  am  Herod — Herod,  lord  of  the  world! 

(Raising  his  sword,  the  CAPTAIN  makes  sign  to  the  HOST,  who 
lift  high  their  spears.  As  the  CHORUS  breaks  into  song, 
they  depart,  marching,  while  HEROD  reenters  his  palace.) 

CHORUS 

Sixth  Chorus:  s,  3.  Go  forth,  ye  host  of  power! 

Sons  oftht  Perse-  £  f      j  t     ^  J       j    j 

cuting  Host  V  .    7      .          77. 

t  or  Herod  s  might  is  a  blazing  tower  9 
And  Herod's  wrath  is  holy. 
Yea,  Herod's  wrath 
God's  ire  it  hath 
As  he  rends  the  weak  asunder. 
Go  forth  upon  his  fiery  path 
Go  forth,  ye  host,  in  thunder! 

The  strong,  the  strong  shall  reign! 
Unleash  the  hounds  of  pain, 

And  loose  their  cry 

Where  the  wounded  lie 
And  the  weakling  race  are  slain. 
26 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


Go  forth,  ye  host  of  power! 

Destroy,  destroy  the  dreaming! 
For  none  may  pause  for  a  dream  to  flower 
Where  Herod's  might  goes  streaming. 
Yea,  Herod's  might 
God  maketh  His  right 
When  the  weak  of  the  world  go  under. 
Go  forth  upon  their  darkling  flight, 
Go  forth,  ye  host,  in  thunder! 


SIXTH  ACTION 
(The  Befriending) 

STAGE  A 

OW,  from  the   Place  of   Outcasts,   CHORAL 
VOICES   sing,  while  once  more    JOSEPH, 
MARY  and  SHEPHERDS  bearing  the  MAN 
GER  appear,  coming  forth  from  the  shelter 
of  the  Evergreen.    With  them  TREE  also  appears. 


Seventh  Chorus: 
A,  5.  Glory  and 
Serenity 


CHORUS        / 

Glory  and  serenity. 

Beauty  of  desire, 
Bless  to-night  this  holy  tree 

And  our  candle  fire. 
Tree  of  our  hearts,  behold! 

How  the  dreams  of  a  child  in  your  boughs  unfold 
And  the  weary  of  earth  put  of  their  pain 
Where  the  Child  of  our  love  has  lain. 

28 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


JOSEPH 

Shepherd,  the  morrow's  light  will  soon  begin 
To  wake  the  desert  world.    Here  we  have  lain 
This  night  in  quiet  refuge;  yet  through  sleep 
I  heard  far  off  the  host  of  Herod  rage 
Against  this  Child  His  kingdom.     So  once  more 
Let  us  go  forth  our  way,  till  He  is  safe 
Beyond  the  war-lord's  might. 

SHEPHERD 

Yea,  let  us  go, 
Yet  not  till  we  have  thanked  this  gentle  Tree. 

JOSEPH 

Dear  Tree,  you  have  befriended  in  his  need 
This  little  Child  new-born.     So — for  His  sake — 
Your  gracious  boughs  shall  evermore  be  green, 
Nor  ever  in  winter  lose  their  April  sap, 
But  freshly,  at  this  season  of  His  birth, 
They  shall  be  fragrant  of  the  hallowed  dreams 
His  happy  heart  bequeathes  you. 

TREE 

He  was  welcome, 

And  I  will  deck  my  boughs  with  infant  joys 
In  his  remembrance. 

SHEPHERD 

So  we  say — God  keep  you! 
And  not4  Goodbye7! 

29 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


JOSEPH 
(To  TREE) 

Nay,  still  another  token 

We  leave  with  you :   His  star — to  be  henceforth 
A  morning  star  of  song  for  other  children 
Who  rest  from  Herod's  wrath.     So  you  shall  be 
No  more  a  forest  sprite,  but  a  hallow'd  angel — 
His  shining  angel  with  a  sheathed  sword 
To  guard  all  childhood's  home.     Keep  here  his  star: 
Farewell  1 

TREE 

O  fare  you  well,  dear  wanderers, 
That  have  fulfilled  with  love  my  lonely  dream! 

(With  lighted  candles,  in  processional,  the  SHEPHERDS  with 

MANGER,  MARY  and  JOSEPH  depart  toward  the  desert. 

While  the  CHORUS  sings,  TREE  stands  gazing  after  them.) 


CHORUS 

Eighth  Chorus:  A,6.  Glory  and  serenity, 

Glory  and  Serenity  Beauty  of  desire, 

Blend  the  song  of  men  set  free 
With  their  children's  choir. 
Child  of  our  hearts,  behold! 
How  the  dark  is  strewn  with  your  fairy  gold 
And  the  bitter  of  soul  lay-by  their  spleen 
Where  the  Tree  of  our  love  grows  green. 

(TREE  goes  within.) 


SWORD  OF  THE  WORLD 

CHORUS  B 
Herod,  our  lord  and  king!    Who  shall  defy  his  command? 

CHORUS  A 

A  star!    A  star  shall  confound  him! 


SEVENTH  ACTION 

(The  Three  Wise  Men) 

AISLE  II:  ANOTHER  PATHWAY  INTO  THE 
WILDERNESS 

NTERING   from   its  farther  end  appear,  in 
procession,  the  THREE  WISE  MEN,    and 
their   FOLLOWERS.    Lighted   by  torches   of 
their    Attendants,  this    PAGEANT    OF    THE 
KINGS  moves  onward  in  oriental  splendor. 
Each  KING  wears  a  crown  of  gold. 
The  crown  of  the  youngest,  BELSHASAR,  is  set  on  a 
turban.    He  is  clean  shaven,  pale  and  recluse.    The  garb 
of  him  and  his  Group  has  a  tone  of  asceticism. 

The  crown  of  the  middle-aged,  MELCHIOR,  is  placed 
on  a  helmet.  He  is  thick-set,  black-bearded  and  sharp- 
eyed.  A  martial  glitter  touches  him  and  his  Group. 

The  crown  of  the  oldest,  CASPAR,  is  set  on  a  high-peaked 
hat  with  wide  flapping  brims.  His  beard  is  silver  white, 
his  face  ruddy  and  wrinkled  with  laughter.  His  ample 
gown  is  gorgeous  with  red  dyes  and  jewels.  Like  him  in 
jocular  splendor  are  his  Followers. 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


As  they  approach  the  place  of  the  Tree,  KINGS  and 
FOLLOWERS  come  singing  a  carol,  led  by  the  KINGS. 

BELSHASAR,  MELCHIOR  AND   CASPAR 

TRIO 

Carol  4.  we  three  kings  of  Orient  are: 

"fr'n^Lv  Wending  home,  we  traverse  afar 

of  Orient  Are"  Field  and  fountain 

Moor  and  mountain 
Seeking  for  our  lost  star. 

CHORUS 

(Of  the  THREE  KINGS  and  their  FOLLOWERS) 

0  Star  of  Wonder, 

Star  of  Night, 
Star  with  royal  beauty  bright! 

Eastward  leading, 

Home  proceeding, 
Show  once  more  Thy  perfect  light! 

TRIO 

Where  the  guiding  glory  once  shone 
Dark  we  wander  onward  and  on, 

Watching,  hoping. 

Dimly  groping. 
Seeking  the  light  that's  gone. 

32 


w 

I 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


CHORUS 

0  Star  of  Wonder, 

Star  of  Night, 
Star  with  royal  beauty  bright! 

Eastward  leading, 

Home  proceeding, 
Show  once  more  Thy  perfect  light! 


EIGHTH  ACTION 

("Which.  O  Lord,  is  Wisest?") 

STAGE  A 

HE  THREE  KINGS  enter  before  the  Tree, 
their  Followers  grouped  on  the  right.  As  he 
comes,  KING  CASPAR  lifts  his  voice  in  a 
carol,  solo,  in  which  BELSHASAR  and  MEL- 
CHIOR  soon  join  with  him.  Each  of  them,  in  his  singing, 
acts  out  the  sung  carol  in  his  bearing  and  movement. 

CASPAR 
Car°l  5-  Lord  of  life!  how  pleasant  ways 

Solo  andTrio. 


Tht  B<U, 

and  the  Laughter  Leading  down  from  Herod's  place 

By  an  ox's  manger: 
Lo,  there  lay  a  little  child 

Rosy  'neath  the  rafter.  — 
Ahaha!  how  glad  he  smiled! 
Lord,  how  blithe  his  laughter! 

MELCHIOR 

Laughter!  Nay,  I  heard  none  laugh. 
Whom  thou  heardest  —  say  now! 

34 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


CASPAR 
Him,  the  child,  where  mid  the  chaff 

He  lay  on  the  hay-mow. 
Sure,  Belshasar,  thou  didst  bend 

Nigh  him  and  thou  heardest. 

BELSHASAR 

Caspar,  nay:  I  comprehend 
Not  one  thing  thou  wordest. 

CASPAR 

Ohoho!  Still,  Lord,  I  hear 
Music  of  that  laughter. 

MELCHIOR 
Daft  thou  ever  wert:  I  fear 

Still  thou  growest  dafler. 
Nothing  heard  I,  by  my  soul 

But  a  sword  its  clanging. 

BELSHASAR 

Nay,  a  bell,  I  heard  it  toll: 
On  a  cross  'twas  hanging. 

MELCHIOR 
Now,  am  I  not  Melchior? 

By  my  crown  its  keeping! 
'Twas  a  sword  that  dangled  o'er 

Where  the  babe  lay  sleeping. 

35 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


BELSHASAR 

Nay,  a  bell — a  passing-bell: 
Lonely  was  its  ringing. 

CASPAR 

Ahaha!  I  heard  full  well 
(Merry  Christmas!7   singing. 

CASPAR,  BELSHASAR  AND  MELCHIOR 

(Sing  together) 

Lord,  how  may  we  wise  men  tell 

How  to  clothe  our  starkness? 
Song  and  sword  and  passing-bell 

Lure  us  through  the  darkness. 
Send  us  sign  of  hidden  things — 

Thou  who  naught  despisest! 
Lo,  of  us  three  crowned  kings, 

Which,  0  Lord,  is  wisest? 

VOICES  OF  ELF  AND   GNOME 

(Echo  in  song,  within) 

"Which,  0  Lord,  is  wisest?" 

(In  songful  laughter) 

Ohoho!  Ahaha! 

CASPAR 

Lord,  Lord,  Thy  sign!  Harken,  wise  men,  my  brothers; 
Laughter,  laughter  He  sends  us  for  a  sign ! 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


BELSHASAR 
Nay,  voices  of  the  desert  places! 

MELCHIOR 

Mockings  of  midnight! 

ELF  AND   GNOME 

(Enter,  laughing  lyricly) 

Ohohol    Ahdha! 
\ 

CASPAR 
Heigh!  What  is  here?  Elf:— Gnome! 

BELSHASAR 
Keep  back!  They  are  imps  of  evil. 

MELCHIOR 
Stay!  Do  not  speak  with  them.    Hush! 

(CASPAR  pays  no  heed,  but  greets  the  FAIRIES,  who  return  his 
greeting  with  blithe  bows.) 

CASPAR 
Now,  neighbors,  God  rest  you  merry! 

ELF 
Welcome,  Wise  Man! 

37 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


GNOME 

Welcome,  Sir  King! 


MELCHIOR 
(To  BELSHASAR) 
He  speaks  with  them. 

BELSHASAR 
(To  MELCHIOR) 

Come.    He  is  lost! 
(They  draw  away.) 

GNOME 
Where  are  you  from — ye  Kings? 

CASPAR 
From  the  East,  returning  home  from  Herod's  land. 

ELF 
What  went  you  there  for  to  do? 

CASPAR 
To  worship  a  new-born  Child. 

GNOME 
How  did  you  find  your  way? 

CASPAR 
We  followed  a  star. 

38 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


ELF  AND   GNOME 

(Nodding  to  each  other) 
A  star! 

CASPAR 

Yea,  but  our  path  now  has  lost  it. — 
Why  do  ye  laugh  there  so  merry? 

ELF  AND   GNOME 

(Pointing) 
Look  upl 

CASPAR 

The  star!    The  star! 
Ho,  Melchior,  Belshasar,  look  up! 
His  star — the  star  we  have  lost — is  found : 
Behold,  it  shines  on  the  tree! 

MELCHIOR 
I  see  no  star. 

BELSHASAR 
'Tis  darkness  all. 

CASPAR 
What!   Can  you  see  nothing  shining  yonder? 

MELCHIOR 
Nothing.     Your  eyes  are  bleary  with  night. 

BELSHASAR 

Nay,  he's  grown  old  and  merry  and  cracked. 

39 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


CASPAR 

Deaf  to  His  laughter,  blind  to  His  star! 
God  save  you,  Wise  Men!  Let  me  grow  old 
And  merry  and  cracked, 
And  talk  with  His  wild,  silly  creatures. 

(Enter  WOLF,  BEAR  and  LION.) 

BELSHASAR 
(To  MELCHIOR) 
Come  farther! — Wild  beasts  they  draw  near. 

(They  move  aside  into  shadow.) 

CASPAR 
Halloa,  goodman  Bear!    Good  even! 

BEAR 

(Forlornly) 

Ooff!  OofT!  My  honey  hive's  empty. 

LION 
Look  you !    My  bone  is  picked  bare. 

WOLF 

I've  never  a  bone  left  to  pick, 
And  I'm  losing  the  fur  on  my  tail. 

CASPAR 

Heigh,  Master  Wolf,  Sir  Lion! 
How  come  ye  so  down  at  heart? 

40 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


LION 
The  Light-Child  is  gone  on  his  way. 

WOLF 
When  a  fellow  can't  sing,  he  feels  hungry. 

CASPAR 

Nay,  neighbors,  the  Light- Child  is  with  us; 
He  smiles  from  His  twinkling  star 
Yonder,  yea  laughs  in  His  light 
And  bids  us  make  merry  together 
For  joy  of  His  shining. — Hoho ! 
Bring  hither  my  music,  good  fellows! 
Bring  hither  my  fiddles  and  cakes 
To  make  Him  a  feast  night. 

(From  among  CASPAR'S  FOLLOWERS,  cakes  and  instruments 
are  brought  before  him.  To  WOLF,  BEAR  and  LION  he 
gives  each  a  cake;  to  ELF  and  GNOME  a  stringed  in 
strument.) 

Here,  neighbors, 

Have  each  of  you  now  a  sweet  frosting: 
Here's  moon-cake  and  sun-cake  and  star-cake, 
To  mind  us  His  birth-time.    And  you — 
Here's  tune-strings  to  play,  while  we  sing 
To  praise  this  good  tree  of  His  star. 

(TREE  enters,  winged,  all  in  white.) 

ELF 

Look,  look!  Tree  now  is  his  angel. 
5  41 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


TREE 

Welcome,  dear  passers  in  darkness! 
The  Light- Child  is  gone  on  His  way, 
But  He  leaves  you  His  star,  to  make  glad 
Your  path  in  the  wilderness. — Welcome 
Under  His  star! 

CASPAR 

Thank  you,  Tree. 

His  star  hath  made  merry  our  hearts 
To  dance  in  His  light — aye,  to  sing 
As  we  enter  your  place  of  His  dreams. 
Come,  neighbors,  now  blithe  be  our  carol! 

(With  his  sceptre  for  baton,  CASPAR  leads  in  dance  and  song 
WOLF,  BEAR,  LION,  ELF  and  GNOME,  the  BEASTS  holding 
their  cakes,  the  FAIRIES  playing  their  instruments. 
Joining  in  their  blithe  dance  of  devotion,  the  old  KING 
clutches  the  great  flap  of  his  crown,  to  keep  it  from 
joggling  off.) 

ALL 

(Sing,  to  the  strongly  stressed  dance-rhythm) 

Carol  6. 

Do™he~Ever°-  °  El»er8reen>  our  Evergreen! 

green.  Thy  boughs  are  brave  and  bright  o*  sheen, 

Thy  bark  and  wood  are  live  and  strong 

And  bonny  with  the  berry. 
So  we  will  sing  our  even-song 
And  dance  for  thee,  like  king  and  queen. — 
0  Evergreen,  dear  Evergreenl — 
To  make  thy  heart  be  merry. 
42 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


O  Even-song,  our  Even-song, 
Thy  notes  this  holy  night  belong 
To  Him  who  came  to  heal  our  teen 

With  love  and  starry  leaven. 
His  childhood  keepeth  ever  green 
All  hearts  of  creatures  here  that  long — 
O  Even-song,  dear  Even-song — 

To  make  our  earth  His  heaven. 

(Following  TREE,  they  dance  joyously  within. 

Outside,  MELCHIOR,  BELSHASAR  and  their  Followers 
wait  in  the  dimness.) 

BELSHASAR 
A  bell!  I  hear  a  bell  tolling. 

MELCHIOR 
A  sword!  The  clang  of  a  sword! 


NINTH  ACTION 

(Outcasts) 

STAGE  B  AND  AISLE  I 

'ROM  the  right  of  HEROD'S  Gate  sounds  the 
tolling  of  bells — from  the  left,  the  clangor  of 
swords. 

During  this,  HEROD  comes  forth  and 
stands  on  his  dais.  There,  in  shifting  light  and  darkness, 
HELMETED  MEN  with  swords  hurry  to  him,  confer  in 
pantomime  and  depart. 

Then,  as  HEROD  stands  looking  down  from  his  height, 
there  passes  below  him  a  PROCESSION  OF  OUTCASTS, 
which — moving  from  Aisle  II  to  Aisle  I — passes  on  along 
Aisle  I  toward  the  Place  of  the  Tree.  When  the  last  of 
this  dirgeful  Pageant  has  gone  by  him,  HEROD  returns 
in  darkness  within  the  gate. 

The  Procession  of  Outcasts  is  accompanied  by  FOUR 
MASKED  FIGURES  in  symbolic  garb,  and  consists  of 
the  FOLLOWERS  of  these,  walking  before  and  after  a 
stretcher,  borne  at  the  middle  of  the  Pageant.  First  of  the 
Four  is  a  Female  Figure,  SONG,  who  leads  the  Procession, 
looking  upward;  last,  is  a  Male  Figure,  POVERTY,  bowed 
in  stature.  The  other  two  Male  Figures  walk  at  the  head 

44 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


and  foot  of  the  stretcher,  the  first  being  SORROW,  staring 
before  him,  the  second  one — DEATH,  who  bears  a  muffled 
babe  in  his  arms,  lulling  it,  with  a  calm  smile. 

On  the  stretcher  a  Poor  Man  lies  wounded — a  PEDLAR, 
with  his  pack  for  a  head-rest.  He  wears  a  red  jerkin  and 
great  boots  and  a  workman's  cap.  His  beard  is  brown. 
His  face  is  pale,  his  side  bandaged.  In  one  hand  he  holds 
a  broken  sword.  The  Man  is  GLAUS,  whose  Wife,  RUTH, 
walks  beside  him,  in  peasant  garb.  At  his  other  side  walk 
two  small  tattered  Figures — a  BOY  and  a  GIRL,  their 
children. 

As  all  pass  slowly  onward,  the  OUTCASTS  chant  their 
song-dirge,  out  of  which  rises  momentarily,  first,  the  Voice 
of  RUTH,  then  of  GLAUS,  while  at  times  Full  Chorus  gives 
deeper  volume  to  the  singing.  Rhythms  of  tolled  bells 
and  of  clanging  swords  accompany  the  two  Semi-Choruses. 

THE  OUTCASTS 

(Semi-Chorus  of  Women) 

Bells,  bells  of  the  dark!  N\nth  Chorus:  A>7- 

rr>  r  .  7  .  ,  Dirge  of  the  Outcasts 

1  ongues  of  iron  and  terror! 
Toll  no  more,  no  more, 
Bells  of  my  breaking  heart! 

RUTH 

Beautiful  I  bore  him, 
Babe  of  my  life  and  milk: 

45 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


Wonderful  I  wore  him. 
Yea,  as  a  scarf  of  silk: 
Terrible — terrible — 
They  tore  him! 

THE  OUTCASTS 

(Semi-Chorus  of  Women) 

Bells  of  my  breaking  heart. 
Toll  no  more,  no  more, 
Tongues  of  iron  and  terror, 
Bells,  bells  of  the  dark! 

FULL  CHORUS 

(Men  and  Women) 
God! — God  of  the  broken  heart! 

Lord  of  the  tolling  bell! 
God,  our  God,  if  thou  art,  if  thou  art, 
Tell  us,  our  Father,  tell: 
How  darkly  long 
Shall  the  reign  of  the  strong 
Endure,  to  make  of  Thine  earth  our  hell, 
Ere  thou,  0  Lord  of  the  bleeding  dart, 
Rise  in  Thy  light,  to  quell? 

THE  OUTCASTS 

(Semi-Chorus  of  Men) 

Swords,  swords  in  my  soul! 
Tongues  of  fire  and  horror! 
Clang  aloud,  aloud, 
Swords  of  my  burning  heart! 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


CLAUS 

Newly  born  I  named  him 
Babe  of  my  joy  and  ruth: 
Kin  of  heart  I  claimed  him, 
Yea,  as  my  star  of  youth: 
Murderous — murderous — 
They  maimed  him! 

THE  OUTCASTS 

(Semi-Chorus  of  Men) 

Swords  of  my  burning  heart! 
Clang  aloud,  aloud, 
Tongues  of  fire  and  horror, 
Swords,  swords  in  my  soul! 

FULL  CHORUS 

(Men  and  Women) 

God! — God  of  the  burning  soul! 

Lord  of  the  clanging  sword! 
God,  our  God,  from  Thy  kindling  goal, 
Answer  us,  answer,  Lord! 
How  far  and  blind 
Shall  the  kings  of  our  kind 
Beguile  our  hearts  on  their  paths  abhorred. 
Ere  thou,  0  Christ  of  a  race  made  whole. 
Come  in  Thy  world-accord? 


TENTH  ACTION 

(The  Wounded  Pedlar) 

STAGE  A 

HILE  the  OUTCASTS  have  been  approaching, 
CASPAR  has  come  forth  from  the  Place  of  the 
Tree  and  watched  them  coming. 

Now,  where  he  joins  BELSHASAR  and 
MELCHIOR,  the  THREE  KINGS  call,  in  song,  to  the 
dim  Figures  who  draw  near. 

THE  THREE  KINGS 

Car°l  8-  Who  are  ye  that  come  singing  in  darkness, 

I'aU^the'Kings  Outcast  in  the  desert  so  late? 

and  the  Pedlar  GLAUS 

O  Kings,  it  is  me,  Claus  the  Pedlar, 
And  these  be  my  children  and  mate. 

THE  THREE  KINGS 

Who  are  those  there,  your  comrades,  beside  you: 
Those  shadows,  say,  who  should  they  be? 

CLAUS 

They  be  Death,  and  his  young  brother,  Sorrow, 
And  his  old  brother,  Poverty. 
48 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


THE  THREE  KINGS 

Nay,  but  who  is  that  other  amidst  them, 
That  lifteth  her  face:  What  is  she? 

GLAUS 

That  is  Song,  and  she  is  their  sister 
Who  waiteth  upon  them,  all  three. 

(GLAUS,  RUTH  and  the  two  CHILDREN  have  now  joined  the 
THREE  KINGS.) 

CASPAR 

Goodman,  why  are  the  eyes  of  your  woman 
So  weary  of  look  and  so  wild? 

GLAUS 

He  hath  broken  our  home,  hath  King  Herod, 
And  killed  us  our  new-born  child. 

Now  tell  us,  ye  Kings  that  be  Wise  Men, 

Now  tell  us,  where  darkly  we  roam: 
What  right  hath  a  king  of  a  pedlar 

To  rob  him  his  child  and  his  home? 

MELCHIOR 

A  king  hath  the  right  of  his  power 
To  raise  high  his  glory  and  crown. 

GLAUS 

Then  it's  Claus  hath  the  right  of  a  pedlar 
To  pull  his  high  glory  adown. 

49 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


CASPAR 

A  king  hath  his  host  and,  his  captains 
To  shatter  the  weak  with  his  horde. 

CLAUS 

Then  it's  Claus  he  will  be  his  own  captain 
To  sharpen  the  edge  of  his  sword. 

BELSHASAR 

Nay,  a  king  hath  the  might  of  his  lordship 
'  Tis  death  for  his  slave  to  defy. 

CLAUS 

Then  it's  me  hath  the  right  of  my  manship 
To  master  his  might  or  to  die. 

For  'tis  God  is  my  King  and  not  Herod, 

And  God  he  keepeth  no  slave; 
And  liever  than  live  Herod's  henchman 

I'll  lie  a  free  man  in  the  grave. 

So  I  dared  him  his  host  and  his  captains, 
And  struck  for  my  babe  a  sword  blow; 

And  'tis  here  they  have  broken  my  body; 
With  Death  now  right  soon  must  I  go. 
CASPAR 

Nay,  cheerly,  Claus!   Cheerly,  goodwife  and  kiddies! 
Now  you  have  wandered  to  a  lucky  place. 
Our  Evergreen  shall  heal  your  hurt.     Run,  Elf, 
And  fetch  him  balsam  gum  to  balm,  his  wounds. 

(ELF  runs  within.) 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


CLAUS 

No  balsam  gum  can  heal  us  our  lost  babe. 
Ruth,  wife,  where  lieth  now  his  little  body? 

RUTH 
Death  holds  him  fast.    Death  holdeth  him  forever. 

MELCHIOR 

Herod  is  king.    Ye  should  have  awe  of  kings 
And  bow  before  them. 

BELSHASAR 

We  are  kings  and  wise, 
And  warn  you  what  you  owe  to  Herod. 

CLAUS 

Herod! 

I  have  paid  back  to  Herod  all  I  owe  him — 
The  red  blade  of  this  broken  sword. 

CASPAR 

Brave  said! 

Give  me  the  hasp.     See,  we  will  hang  it  here 
On  this  green  bough,  to  be  your  shining  cross 
Of  freedom  and  remembrance — yea,  a  sign 
For  Herods,  when  they  pass,  to  pause  and  think  on, 

MELCHIOR 
(To  BELSHASAR) 

He  flouteth  what  we  say! 

(BELSHASAR  shrugs,  but  motions  MELCHIOR  to  listen. 
ELF  returns.) 

51 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


CASPAR 

So,  Pedlar  Claus, 

Lay-by  thy  pack,  and  rest  you  here  till  morrow; 
Tend   him,    good   Elf   and    Gnome.     Now,    mother, 

bravely! 

These  beasties  shall  make  hospitality 
And  share  their  holy  frost-cakes  with  your  children, 
Wiping  their  eyes  with  love:   And  these  war-weary, 
Glad  of  our  Evergreen,  shall  take  new  hope 
From  yon  clear  star. 

(He  helps  CLAUS  to  rise  and  supports  him  to  the  foot  of  the 
Tree,  where  he  places  his  pack  for  CLAUS  to  recline. 
The  stretcher  is  borne  away. 
Far  off,  a  long  blast  sounds.) 

BELSHASAR 

Hark,  hark!  What  trumpet  calls? 

MELCHIOR 
'Tis  Herod's  host.    Take  heed ! 

RUTH 

God  shield  us  now! 

(She  turns  toward  CASPAR,  who  comforts  her  and  the  CHILDREN.) 


ELEVENTH  ACTION 

(The  Persecuting  Host) 

AISLE  I  AND  AISLE  II 

'DURING  forth  from  the  Place  of  Empire,  the 
HOST  OF  HEROD  and  their  LEADERS,  with 
spears  held  high,  come  marching  on  both 
pathways  toward  the  Tree,  singing  in  chorus 
as  they  march. 

CHORUS 

Go  forth,  ye  host  of  power!  Tenth  Chorus 

i        7  7,77  7,7    /  S°n£   °f  thg 

Enslave,  enslave  the  humble!  cuting  Host 

'Fore  Herod's  host  their  hearts  shall  cower, 
Their  builded  hopes  shall  crumble. 
Y-ea,  Herod's  host 
Shall  trample  them  most 
Where  they  build  their  shrines  of  wonder. — 
Go  forth  with  Vengeance'  war-red  ghost, 
Go  forth,  go  forth  in  thunder! 


TWELFTH  ACTION 

(The  Morning  Stars) 

STAGE  A 

TAYING  his  Followers,  the  CAPTAIN  OF 
THE  HOST  approaches  the  THREE  KINGS 
by  the  Tree. 

In  his  hand  he  bears  the  Staff  of  Herod. 

CAPTAIN 

Halt  here! — Behold  them.     They  are  found. 
Stand  forth,  ye  Kings  of  East !  What  make  ye 
So  far  from  Herod's  throne? 

MELCHIOR 

We  journey  home. 

CAPTAIN 

Know  ye  not  Herod's  wrath,  what  'tis! — 
Why  brought  ye  not  your  tidings  back 
To  him?  Where  is  the  Manger-Child? 

MELCHIOR 
We  know  him  not. 

BELSHASAR 
Our  trail  we  lost. 
His  star  is  dark. 

54 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


CASPAR 

Nay,  shineth  yonder! 

CAPTAIN 

(Staring) 
Where  shineth? 

BELSHASAR 
He  is  old  and  daft. 

MELCHIOR 

Hail,  Captain  of  our  lord  his  host! 
Welcome  you  are  in  Herod's  name.— 

CLAUS 

(Rising  painfully) 

Nay,  curst  is  he  in  Herod's  name. — 
Give  back  my  babe! 

CAPTAIN 

(Strikes  him  with  his  staff.) 

Take  hence  thy  life! 

(CLAUS  falls  back  motionless. 
DEATH  draws  near  and  bends  over  him.) 

DEATH 
Come,  Claus:  Awake!  Thy  babe  is  here. 

CLAUS 

Friend  Death,  now  raise  me  up. — Methought 
Thou  hadst  been  deaf  and  dumb,  but  now 
We  speak  together. 

55 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


DEATH 

Here  I  hold 
Thy  little  babe. 

GLAUS 

(Taking  the  muffled  child) 

O  little  babe, 

Now  are  we  both  in  Death  his  arms 
Safe  held  from  Herod's  wrath.     Be  glad 
Thy  father  was  not  Herod's  slave. 

(In  his  great  cloak  DEATH  leads  him  away. 
RUTH  stares  after  them.) 

RUTH 
Claus!  Claus! — Now  Death  hath  taken  him. 

CASPAR 

Poor  woman,  do  not  weep  for  Claus. 
Friend  Death  is  kind. 

RUTH 

Now  are  we  left 
Alone,  and  none  to  shield  us. 


A  king  shall  shield  ye. 


CASPAR 
Yea, 


CAPTAIN 

King!   What  king 
Would  shield  these  Herod's  outcasts? 

56 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


CASPAR 

One 

That's  old  and  merry  and  cracked,  and  wears 
This  crown  of  Caspar,  king  of  babes 
Made  fatherless. 

MELCHIOR 

(To  the  CAPTAIN,  shrewdly) 
You  hear? 

BELSHASAR 

He's  mad! 

CAPTAIN 

Nay,  give  me  sign  what  manner  wise  men 

And  kings  you  are.    Make  sign,  ye  three, 

Now  to  this  staff;  for,  by  its  power! 

All  lesser  kings  who  bow  them  not 

To  Herod's  staff  shall  lose  their  crowns. 

Bow!  Bow  ye  low  to  Herod,  lord  of  the  world! 

MELCHIOR 
(Bows  low  to  the  staff.) 

Herod,  most  High! 

CAPTAIN 
Thy  crown  keep  safe. 

BELSHASAR 
(Bows  low  to  the  staff.) 

Herod,  the  Mighty! 

57 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


CAPTAIN 
Keep  thy  crown. 

CASPAR 
(Remains  standing,  and  smiles.) 

Herod,  the  Poor! 

CAPTAIN 

What  now!  How  name  ye 
Herod — the  poor? 

CASPAR 

Is  he  not  poor 

To  lose  him  both  my  brothers'  crowns, 
And  needs  ask  alms  of  me,  old  Caspar? — 
Ho,  take  him  this  my  crown,  poor  Herod  1 
And  this,  my  sceptre,  yea,  and  this 
My  cloak  also,  and  bid  him  keep 
His  staff  for  kings  of  sadder  heart 
To  bow  them  to.    Mine  is  too  merry. — 
Now,  kiddies,  come:  where  be  your  cakes 
And  frosting? 

(Having  put  off  his  King's  robe,  sceptre  and  crown,  CASPAR  now 
appears  in  his  under-jerkin  of  red,  with  long  boots,  like 
a  Peasant.) 

MELCHIOR 
(To  BELSHASAR) 

Mad!  Stark  gone! 

58 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


CAPTAIN 

(Tossing   aside   the  robe,   sceptre   and  crown,   speaks  to  his 

Followers.) 

Lay-by 

These  tokens,  men!   Your  spears!   Your  spears! 
This  wise  man  shall  learn  wisdom  now 
In  Herod's  name. 

BELSHASAR 

(Interposing) 

Forbear!  He  raves. 
(HE  and  MELCHIOR  draw  the  CAPTAIN  momentarily  aside.) 

RUTH 

(To  CASPAR) 

Alas !  How  can  you  help  us  now 
And  have  no  kingdom? 

CASPAR 

Ha,  my  dears! 

A  joyful  heart  finds  many  a  job 
Can  earn  a  kingdom. 

(Taking  the  little  BOY  and  GIRL,  one  on  each  knee,  he  speaks 
to  them  and  their  Mother.) 

Cheerly,  woman! 

Thy  goodman  plied  a  goodly  trade. — 
Poor  Claus  he  was  a  pedlar:  Ho! 
A  pedlar  now  will  Caspar  be, 
And  take  thy  goodman 's  pack  and  name, 
And  ply  his  trade  of  children's  toys 
By  neighbor  chimneys,  house  to  house, 

7  59 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


With  jingling  bells  in  winter  air; 

And  hearth  to  hearth  the  mirth  shall  spread 

Around  the  fire,  and  yule  logs  blaze, 

And  apples  toast,  and  stockings  spill 

With  candy  dolls  and  popping  tricks; 

And  tiptoe  boys  and  girls  shall  peep 

To  spy  the  pedlar  with  his  sack, 

And  pay  his  wage  in  wonder  coin 

Left  on  the  hearthstone;   and  through  all 

The  evergreen  and  evergreen, 

Around  the  tree  of  light  shall  run — 

With  fairy  twinklings  of  His  star — 

The  laughter  of  a  Manger  Child. 

(Rising,  he  lifts  the  CHILDREN  in  his  arms.) 
Up,  kiddies,  now,  with  Pedlar  Claus 
To  find  His  kingdom ! 

CAPTAIN 

(To  BELSHASAR,  brushing  him  and  MELCHIOR  aside) 

Nay,  no  more! 

He  bowed  not  down,  and  shall  pay  dear 
For  Herod's  anger. 

CASPAR 

(Swinging  the  Pedlar's  pack  upon  his  back) 

Ho,  good  hearts ! 

Now,  Sorrow,  come!  and  Poverty! 
And  you,  dear  Song,  that  serve  on  them ! 
You,  Elf  and  Gnome,  and  desert  beasts! 
Ye  children  all,  both  old  and  young, 
Come,  gather  by  this  holy  Tree 
And  share  with  Pedlar  Claus  his  pack! 

60 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


CAPTAIN 
(Mocking) 

Ho,  Glaus,  the  Pedlar-King!  Hail  Glaus! 

THE  HOST  OF  HEROD 
Hail,  Glaus,  the  Pedlar-King!  King  Glaus! 

(They  crowd  toward  him;   his  cap  is  struck  off.) 

CAPTAIN 
(Raising  the  cap  on  a  spear) 

Lo,  Glaus,  his  crown!   Behold  the  crown  1 

THE  HOST 
Hail  to  the  crown!  The  Pedlar's  crown! 

CAPTAIN 

Ye  Spears  of  Herod,  spill  him  wine ! 
Yea,  with  his  blood  anoint  him ! 

(Pointing  their  spears,  the  HOST  turn  to  rush  upon  CASPAR, 
when  suddenly  A  BLAZE  OF  LIGHT  checks  and  astounds 
them:  silverly  A  BLAST  OF  TRUMPETS  sounds;  the  Ever 
green  branches  burst  into  bloom  cf  stars,  while  TREE,  AS 
ANGEL,  comes  forth,  holding  sheathed  a  shining  Sword, 
its  hasp  in  a  Crown  of  Holly.) 

TREE 

Stay! 

Bow,  Host  of  Herod!   Bow  ye  down 
And  hail  our  Saint  of  Evergreen: 
Hail  Saw/a  Glaus! 

(TREE  places  the  Holly  Crown  on  CASPAR'S  head. 

A  BURST  OF  SLEIGH-BELLS  sounds,  filling  the  air  with  their 
circlings  of  silver  music.) 

6l 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


THE  CHILDREN,  FAIRIES  AND  BEASTS 
(Shout  with  wild  joy) 

Hail,  Santa  Glaus! 

THE  CAPTAIN  AND  THE  HOST 

(Falling  back,  murmur  in  awe) 

Hail,  Santa  Glaus! 

(Overwhelmed,  they  bow  down.  Choirs  of  shrilly  gladness  break 
forth  in  Chorus,  as  the  jingling  sleigh-bells  change  to 
PEALING  CHIMES.) 

CHORUS 

Eleventh  chorus:  Hail — Santa  Clausl 

A  8  and  B  5.  s  ^    /•  owr  Evergreen! 

Chorus  of  the  '  . 

Christmas  Tree  Hail,  dear  Pedlar  of  starry  joys! 

f  *r/  L  On  your  own  shoulders 

(Chorus  A)  ' 

The  Pedlar-King  Now  you  have  Lifted 

All  the  world's  weariness — 
Pack  of  old  burdens. 
Sack  of  our  sorrows: 
Lifted  it,  stored  anew, 
Crammed  with  enchantment, 
Bursting  with  merry 
And  magical  laughter, 
Wonder  of  children — 
Mirth  of  our  Lord! 
62 


THE  PEDLAR-KING 

Bow,  Host  of  Herod!  Bow  ye  down 
And  hail  our  Saint  of  Evergreen: 
Hail  Santa  Claus! 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


Hail,  dear  Pedlar- 
King  of  our  Evergreen: 

Santa!   Santa! 

Holly-crown1  d  saint  of  us! 
Hail,  eternal 
Wise  man  and  child! 

(During  this  Chorus  and  while  it  continues,  SANTA — with 
beaming  face — opens  his  great  pack  and  distributes 
forth  gifts  to  the  CHILDREN,  the  OUTCASTS,  and  the 
HOST  OF  HEROD,  who  now  rise  joyfully  and  press  round 
him.  CHORUS  now  answers  CHORUS  across  the  assembled 
People,  the  deep  voices  of  the  Men's  Chorus  (B)  now 
singing  in  Antiphony.) 

CHORUS  A  P"«  IL 

(Choruses  A  and  E) 

Who  wakened  her  heart  with  song  for  the  coming  The  Tree 

of  light? 
Who  harked  for  the  morning  stars  their   singing 

together? 

CHORUS    B  Antiphonal 

The  Tree!    The  Tree! 

The  Evergreen  Tree! 
The  light  of  her  heart  hath  blossomed — 

Hath  bloomed  with  stars 
In  the  places  of  desert. 

CHORUS  A 

Who  nourished  a  dream  in  the  lone  wilderness, 
Where  wild  beasts  kill  one  another  and  weary  of 
killing? 

63 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


Antiphond  CHORUS    B 

The  Tree!   The  Tree! 

The  Evergreen  Tree! 
The  power  of  her  dream  hath  blossomed 

With  blinding  stars 
In  the  hearts  of  the  terrible. 

CHORUS  A 

Herod,  lord  of  the  world!    Who  hath  defeated  his 
power? 

Antipkonal  CHORUS    B 

A  star!  A  star  doth  confound  him! 

CHORUS  A 

Herod,  sword  of  ilie  world!    Who  hath  surmounted 
his  cunning? 

Antiphonal  CHORUS    B 

A  child!  A  child  hath  disarmed  him! 

CHORUS  A 

Herod,  wrath  of  the  world!    What  hath  overthrown 
his  dominion? 

Antiphond  CHORUS    B 

A  dream!  A  dream  hath  survived  him! 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


CHORUS  A 

.     ,,    .  P  ,,,  (Choruses  A  and  B) 

(Appearing  in  their  over-garments  of  WHITE,  look  toward  the   -phe  child 
place  of  HEROD  while  they  sing.) 

Where  are  ye  that  through  the  blindness  of  the  slaughter, 
Through  the  terror  and  the  tempest  of  the  night, — 
Where  are  ye  that  bowed  you  down  to  a  helmet  and  a 
crown? 

Have  you  seen  the  Child  His  stars? 
Have  you  heard  the  morning  stars — 
His  stars  that  sing  around  the  Tree  of  light? 

Will  you  hasten?    Will  you  heed? 

Will  you  bind  His  wounds  that  bleed? 
Will  you  build  his  works  of  joy  and  charity? 

Are  you  risen?    Do  you  hark? 

Are  you  coming  through  the  dark — 
Are  you  coming,  are  you  coming  to  the  Tree? 

CHORUS  B 

(In  their  ^over- garments  of  RED,  rise  from  the  place  of  their 
singing,  and  move  forward  in  procession  toward  the 
CHORUS  IN  WHITE.) 

Here  are  we  that  knew  the  blindness  of  the  slaughter  9 

Knew  the  terror  and  the  tempest  of  the  night: 
Here  are  we  that  bowed  us  down  to  a  helmet  and  a 
crown, 

But  we've  seen  the  Child  His  stars, 
We  have  heard  the  morning  stars — 
His  stars  that  sing  wound  the  Tree  of  light. 

65 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREE 


We  will  hasten!    We  will  heed! 

We  will  bind  His  wounds  that  bleed; 
We  will  build  His  works  of  joy  and  charity. 

We  are  risen,  and  we  hark! 

We  are  coming  through  the  dark — 
We  are  coming,  we  are  coming  to  the  Tree! 

(As  they  approach  the  Tree,  the  Singers  of  CHORUS  B  lay  off 

their  RED  over-garments  and  join  the  CHORUS  IN  WHITE. 

The  two  CHORUSES  now  form  one. 
Joined,  in  their  singing,  by  the  HOST  OF  HEROD,  the  OUTCASTS, 

and  by  ALL  THE  ASSEMBLED  PEOPLE,  they  raise  their 

Voices  together.) 

ALL 

Child  of  God,  forgive  the  blindness  and  the  slaughter! 

Child  of  Pity,  calm  the  terror  of  the  night! 
Yea,  and  all  that  bow  them  down  to  a  helmet  and  a 
crown — 

Let  them  see,  like  us,  Thy  stars! 
Let  them  join  the  morning  stars — 
Thy  stars  that  sing  around  the  Tree  of  light! 

Child  of  Heaven,  now  we  heed! 

We  will  bind  Thy  wounds  that  bleed; 
We  will  build  Thy  works  of  joy  and  charity. 

We  are  risen  in  Thy  right: 

We  are  singing  through  the  night — 
We  are  singing,  we  are  singing  to  the  Tree! 

Alleluia! 
Amen! 


THE  MORNING  STARS 

CHORUS 

Child  of  Heaven,  now  we  heed! 

We  will  bind  Thy  wounds  thai  bleed, 

We  will  build  Thy  works  of  joy  and  charity: 

We  are  risen  in  Thy  right, 

We  are  singing  through  the  night — 

We  are  singing,  we  are  singing  to  the  Tree! 


COMMENTARIES 
ON  THE  MASQUE 


_ 

1 


1 


2   I 

-d     PL, 


PH 

I 
I 


O 


I 

in 

i 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR 
COMMUNITY  PRELUDE  AND  EPILUDE 

I.— PRELUDE 

In  producing  this  Masque,  different  communities  will  doubt 
less  wish  to  observe  different  ways  of  assembling  to  prepare 
and  begin  its  production. 

Some,  especially  those  given  on  a  small  scale,  may  need  and 
desire  no  prelusive  form  of  ceremony,  in  action,  speech  or  song. 

For  productions  given  on  a  larger  scale,  however,  since  a 
receptive  and  devotional  state  of  feeling  is  greatly  to  be  desired 
for  its  proper  rendering  and  its  impression  upon  those  who 
witness  and  take  part,  it  is  strongly  recommended  that  some 
kind  of  brief,  general  Song  Overture  of  the  people  be  held  just 
before  the  Masque  begins. 

With  this  need  in  mind,  the  suggestions  here  made  by  the 
author  are  given  for  whatever  service  they  may  render  to  the 
desired  end. 

As  Prelude  to  the  production  of  "The  Evergreen  Tree," 
the  following  kind  of  Song  Overture  and  informal  Ceremony 
are  suggested  for  such  large-scale  types  of  the  Masque's  pro 
duction  as  are  witnessed  and  performed  by  all  classes,  races, 
ages  and  creeds  of  the  community. 

After  night-fall,  on  a  winter's  evening,  let  us  imagine  men, 
women  and  children  of  a  town  or  city  gathered  together  out 
of  doors  in  a  public  square  or  park,  or  indoors  within  some  level- 
floored  structure,  to  assemble  by  the  community  Christmas 
Tree,  and  to  join  in  general  singing  under  a  leader. 

The  Leader  will  gather  the  best  trained  singers  at  a  central 
place  (indicated  by  the  roped-off  circle  in  the  Ground  Plan  on 
the  page  opposite),  and  will  start  the  community  singing,  or 
guide  its  spontaneous  beginnings  under  his  leadership. 

69 


COMMUNITY  PRELUDE 


The  trained  Chorus  will  perhaps  sing  the  "Adeste  Fidelis," 
or  "Hark!  the  Herald  Angels  Sing,"  and  the  carollers  will 
raise  their  voices  in  such  old  Christmas  songs  as  may  best 
appeal  to  them.  So,  perhaps  for  twenty  minutes  or  half  an 
hour,  the  singers  will  hold  an  informal  Overture,  in  which  all 
the  gathered  people  may  have  joined. 

Meanwhile,  or  beforehand,  the  Chorus  will  have  put  on  their 
outer  garments  of  red  and  white  (designed  according  to  Mr. 
Jones'  costume  suggestions),  and  will  have  divided  into  their 
two  separate  bodies — (i)  the  mixed  voices,  Chorus  A,  and  (2) 
the  male  choir,  Chorus  B. 

Then  the  Chorus  Leader,  or  some  one  appointed  by  him, 
when  the  Masque  is  almost  ready  to  begin,  will  rise  at  the 
centre — visible  above  the  heads  of  the  Chorus  and  the  people — 
and  will  speak  to  the  assemblage,  perhaps  in  his  own  words, 
or  perhaps — using  some  portion  or  all  of  the  speech  here  given 
— he  will  speak  substantially  as  follows: 

THE   CHORUS  LEADER 

Neighbors  and  Friends — we  have  been  singing  together: 
Wherever  friends  sing  together  out  of  their  hearts 
There  God  sings  with  them. 

We  believe  many  different  ideas,  many  differing  creeds. — 
To-night  let  us  forget  how  we  differ: 

Let  us  remember  only  how  we  believe  in  one  great  thing — 
One  Spirit  in  common — and  this  is  its  holy  name: 
SINGING  TOGETHER. 

In  old,  old  times,  when  plays  were  sung  by  the  people, 

They  built  for  them  altars,  sacred  places  of  singing; 

And  before  their  dramas  began, 

They  used  to  pray  there 

And  ask  a  blessing  on  the  players,  on  the  chorus  and  the  people. 

And  there,  on  those  altars,  they  wrote  the  name  of  their  Lord. 

Friends,  we  are  gathered  here  now  by  an  old,  old  altar: 

The  altar  of  Song — 

Song  of  the  people:  old,  young;  happy,  sad;  rich  and  poor. 

70 


COMMUNITY  PRELUDE 


We  cannot  see  it  with  our  eyes, 

But  we  know  it  in  our  hearts; 

And  there  we  can  read  what  is  written — the  name  of  our  Lord, 

Whose  hallowed  name  is  called 

SINGING  TOGETHER. 

Now  out  of  our  Singing  will  rise  an  Acted  Pageant 

To  tell  an  old  story  newly — 

The  story  of  a  Child. 

Over  yonder,  by  the  Christmas  Tree — there  is  the  Wilderness, 

The  Place  of  Outcasts: 

Over  there — is  the  Gate  of  a  Palace:   the  Palace  of  Herod — 

Herod,  the  mighty  king  in  the  Bible, 

His  place  of  Empire; 

And  there — and  there — are  two  Paths,  that  lead  to  the  Tree. 

Now  let  us  sing  one  more  carol, 

And  take  our  places; 

Then  listen,  and  watch  for  a  sign,  while  the  Chorus  sings: 

And  when  all  is  over — each  of  us,  all  together, 

Let  us  raise  up  our  hearts  and  voices  to  one  great  Spirit 

That  will  make  of  us  all  one  people: 

The  Spirit  whose  glorious  name  is 

SINGING  TOGETHER. 

So  concluding,  the  Chorus  Leader  and  his  Assistant  Leader 
will  accompany  their  Choruses  (the  one — Chorus  A,  the  other 
— Chorus  B)  to  the  places  where  they  sit  during  the  Masque 
(indicated  on  the  diagram)  in  front  of  their  respective  stages. 

As  they  go  to  their  places,  the  Choruses  will  sing  the  carol 
"Good  King  Wencelas."  Then,  when  all  is  still,  the  Masque 
of  "The  Evergreen  Tree"  will  commence  with  the  Chorus  of 
the  Wilderness. 


COMMUNITY  EPILUDE 


IL—EPILUDE 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  Masque,  it  is  not  advisable  that  any 
other  formal  ceremony  should  follow. 

The  participants,  the  children  and  the  people  will  naturally 
be  gathering  about  Santa  Claus  and  partaking  of  the  gifts  from 
his  pack,  or  otherwise  sharing  in  happy  festivity. 

In  order,  however,  that  the  Masque  shall  not  end  in  a  gen 
eral,  disordered  scattering  of  the  assemblage,  it  is  recommended 
that  those  in  costume,  including  the  Choruses  (now  united), 
shall  march  in  good  order  to  the  places  of  their  costuming,  or 
to  such  other  places  as  the  Director  of  the  Masque  may  desig 
nate,  singing  together  stanzas  of  the  Masque  hymn — easily 
learned,  in  unison,  to  the  appealing  music  of  Arthur  Farwell — • 

"  Glory  and  serenity, 
Beauty  of  desire, 
Bless  to-night  this  holy  tree 
And  our  candle-fire." — etc. 


72 


THREE   MONOGRAPHS 

I.— DRAMATIZING  COMMUNITY  SONG 
BY  PERCY  MACKAYE 

The  allurement  of  the  communal  field  in  drama  is  its  fresh 
ness  of  opportunity — its  infinite  potential  variety. 

Definitions  have  not  yet  hedged  it;  criticism  has  not  yet 
charted,  nor  pedagogy  catalogued  its  boundless  horizons  and 
creative  streams;  commercialism  has  not  yet  invaded  its  un 
stinted  harvests,  to  store  and  can  them  for  the  market,  under 
the  labels  of  middlemen. 

So,  in  approaching  this  realm  of  "The  Evergreen  Tree,"  I 
have  felt  something  of  that  thrill  of  discovery  which  must  more 
often  have  been  felt  in  earlier  days  on  American  soil:  a  feeling, 
I  think,  such  as  John  Muir  once  told  me  he  experienced  when 
he  gazed  first,  from  the  top  of  a  great  tree,  over  uncharted 
miles  of  the  redwood  region.  Only  here  I  have  seemed  to  look 
upon  the  conjoining  of  a  great,  structural  continent — the 
Drama — with  a  primal  sea — the  tides  of  Community  Song, 
now  carolling  in  quiet  inlets,  now  choral  with  tempestuous 
music  from  fathomless  deeps. 

If,  then,  I  were  to  suggest  the  nature  of  this  kind  of  com 
munity  drama  by  a  topographical  line,  rather  than  by  a  defini 
tion  of  theory,  I  would  do  so  perhaps  by  a  line  such  as  this: 


73 


DRAMATIZING  COMMUNITY  SONG 

wherein  the  rising  pyramid  would  represent  an  emerging  con 
tour  of  that  continent  (the  Drama),  whose  base  is  submerged 
and  fused  with  those  singing  tides  (Community  Music). 

So  perhaps,  as  dramatist,  I  might  suggest  the  coming  to 
gether  of  those  two  realms  or  "movements"  of  social  art,  to 
which  my  friend  Arthur  Farwell  refers  in  his  comments,  as 
composer. 

Obviously,  this  coming  together  implies  a  new  technique  of 
the  community  dramatist — a  technique  not  for  a  hollowed 
amphitheatre  (that  of  the  traditional  theatre),  but  for  a  level 
assembly  place  (that  of  the  cathedral) :  where  visually,  from  a 
floor  thronged  with  choral  communicants,  there  rises  a  sharp 
focal  point  of  dramatic  action — a  small  raised  stage,  for  such 
few  acting  characters  as  are  typical  of  the  community  dramatic 
ritual. 

So  the  setting  of  the  Masque  takes  form  according  to  its 
nature  (as  indicated  by  the  Ground  Plan  opposite  page  69, 
and  by  the  worded  description  in  the  front  of  this  volume). 
And  so,  as  the  dramatic  architect  by  his  design  shapes  the 
conditions  for  the  cooperation  of  the  composer,  he  shapes  also 
the  conditions  for  the  cooperation  of  the  scenic  producer — 
in  this  case,  Robert  Edmond  Jones,  whose  fresh  and  fertile 
genius  becomes  in  a  production  as  significant  for  the  eye  as  the 
creative  ardor  of  Arthur  Farwell  does  for  the  ear. 

In  the  following  pages,  each  of  these  representative  artists 
describes  briefly  his  distinctive  approach  and  viewpoint  toward 
the  ensemble  production.  As  well  as  may  be  in  brief  space,  we 
hope  thus  to  suggest — for  all  who  read  the  Masque  with  a  view 
to  its  performance  on  however  simple  a  scale — something  of  our 
own  feelings  for  the  right  creative  and  interpretive  approach 
to  this  fresh  field,  in  which  we  are  planning  to  cooperate  per 
sonally  in  at  least  some  one  production  of  "The  Evergreen 
Tree." 

In  the  pioneering  attempt  of  this  Masque,  my  own  purpose 
is  to  dramatize  community  singing — for  conditions  of  our  own 
time,  especially  in  America,  during  this  new,  formative  period 
which  the  world  war  has  begun. 

In  other  lands  and  ages  of  folk  art,  community  song  has  been 
dramatized,  as  it  can  only  be  dramatized  vitally,  by  artists 
moved  by  the  spirit  of  religion;  and  relics  of  such  forms  still 

74 


DRAMATIZING  COMMUNITY  SONG 

survive  amongst  us  in  rituals  of  the  churches.  But  these  rituals 
necessarily  have  attained  their  growth — nobly  classic  at  their 
best,  at  their  worst — dully  disintegrated. 

Now  new  forces  of  an  age  religiously  urgent  for  democracy 
demand  a  re-creation  of  the  forms  of  folk  art,  plastic  to  the 
living  currents  of  the  new  time.  These  currents,  though  con 
tinuous  from  the  past,  widen  now  between  strange  banks  and 
other  horizons;  though  perennial,  they  require  fresh  coor 
dination. 

The  carol,  for  instance,  and  the  ballad — old  forms  of  folk 
art — survive  with  us  only  in  their  archaic  appeal.  We  in 
America  cannot  hope  or  wisely  desire  to  revive  them  for  what 
they  once  were — spontaneous  expressions  of  continuous  com 
munal  life  in  villages  and  peasant  heaths,  for  that  life  has  gone 
from  us,  not  to  return.  But  we  can  do  this — and  in  so  doing, 
give  them  new  life.  We  can  relate  them  definitely  to  a  form 
of  art  for  us  still  living  and  indigenous — to  the  drama,  and 
essentially  to  that  community  kind  of  drama  which  is  but  now 
beginning  its  renascence  of  world  forms  portentous  for  the 
future. 

So  in  "The  Evergreen  Tree,"  perhaps  for  the  first  time,  I  havtf 
embodied  the  acted  carol  and  the  acted  ballad  as  structural 
parts  of  a  dramatic  unity — a  communal  dramatic  unity,  to 
which  the  forms  of  folk  music  are  allied  and  essential. 

Here,  then,  comes  into  being  a  new  kind  of  music  drama — 
far  removed  from  the  connotation  of  opera — a  Song  Drama  of 
the  people.  From  this,  speech  will  not  be  absent;  but  it  will 
necessarily  be  related  to  the  simplicity  of  folk  song  and  folk 
poetry,  in  being  rhythmic  and  chantable  in  its  cadences — 
taking  on  forms  of  spoken  poetry  definitely  related  to  the 
people's  poetry  of  song. 

This  Song  Drama,  too,  of  its  nature — though  susceptible  of 
splendid  pageantry — will  depend,  for  its  dramatic  conflict,  far 
less  on  wills  opposed  in  visual  action  than  on  contrasted  emo 
tions  of  song — of  choral  song,  thus  bringing  again  the  Chorus 
back  to  its  rightful  place,  heard  and  visible,  among  the  people — 
as  with  the  Greeks;  only  now  for  us  it  becomes  a  double  Chorus, 
oppositional  in  will  and  definitely  divided  in  two  parts  (the 
antiphonal  Choruses,  A  and  B,  of  this  Masque,  costumed  also 
in  visual  contrast),  until  its  parts  become  reconciled  in  emotion, 

75 


DRAMATIZING  COMMUNITY  SONG 

when — both  aurally  and  visibly — the  two  unite,  as  at  the  end  of 
"The  Evergreen  Tree." 

This  much  at  least  expresses  my  conception  of  a  new  art 
implied  in  the  present  work — not  as  an  a  priori  theory,  nor  as  a 
generalization  for  others — but  as  the  working  method  which 
has  seemed  for  me  best  adapted  to  perform  a  definite  task  in 
the  community  field  involved. 

The  theme  of  the  Masque  I  will  only  touch  upon  here  to 
say  that,  in  inventing  its  legend  of  Caspar  and  Claus,  I  hope 
I  may  not  wholly  miss  that  unconscious  approval,  which 
would  be  dearer  than  any  other — the  belief  of  the  children. 

Cornish,  N.  H., 
September,  1917. 


COMMUNITY  MUSIC 


II.— COMMUNITY  MUSIC  AND  THE  COMPOSER 
BY  ARTHUR  FARWELL 

The  birth  of  our  national  self-consciousness  in  music,  from 
the  creative  standpoint,  occurred  less  than  twenty  years  ago. 
Not  until  the  last  two  decades  did  the  prodigious  musical 
studies  of  our  young  people  at  home  and  abroad  produce  com 
posers  in  sufficient  quantity  to  make  American  music,  its 
character  and  potentialities,  a  national  question. 

Even  so  brief  a  period  as  this  has,  however,  sufficed  to  wit 
ness  a  succession  of  distinct  phases  in  our  national  musical 
attitude  and  achievement,  phases  so  strongly  contrasted  as  to 
represent  radical  changes  of  artistic  tendency  and  almost  com 
plete  reversals  in  belief  and  direction  of  effort. 

The  last  and  greatest  of  these  changes  is  that  one  which  has 
withdrawn  attention  from  the  composer  as  an  abstract  phe 
nomenon,  and  from  fruitless  theories  of  American  music,  and 
has  centered  it  upon  the  immediate  service  which  music  can 
render  to  the  people  of  our  nation.  In  the  long  run,  the  nation 
cannot  go  one  way  and  its  music  another.  That  the  ideal  in 
the  spirit  of  music  must  sooner  or  later,  in  this  country,  be 
reconciled  to  and  wedded  with  the  ideal  of  the  spirit  of  democ 
racy,  is  an  idea  which  has  met  with  general  acceptance  only 
in  the  last  three  years,  although  it  has  been  ardently  cham 
pioned  by  a  few  individuals  for  nearly  two  decades. 

Taking  its  rise  in  the  compelling  necessity  of  this  principle, 
the  "community  music"  movement  has  swept  the  country  in 
the  last  few  years,  plunging  it  anew  into  violent  discussion, 
annihilating  personal  theories  and  products  of  the  musical 
hot-house,  demanding  the  wholesome  and  the  true — and  giving 
the  people  expression. 

In  this  movement  the  composer  of  the  music  for  "The  Ever 
green  Tree"  has  been  immersed.  In  the  communal  dramatic 
work  and  ideas  of  Percy  MacKaye,  he  has  recognized  a  similar 
development  in  the  art  of  the  theatre.  It  was  inevitable  that 
these  two  movements  should  come  together  and  unite  their 
powers  in  seeking  to  make  a  helpful  contribution  to  the  quest  for 
a  drama — and  should  it  not  truly  be  a  music  drama? — that  shall 

77 


DESIGNS    FOR    "THE    EVERGREEN    TREE" 

serve  most  appropriately  the  deep  need  of  the  American  people 
for  expression  in  such  a  form. 

Anything  which  may  prove  to  be  of  worth  in  my  composi 
tions  for  "The  Evergreen  Tree,"  I  owe  to  the  new  influx  of  life 
which  I  have  received  from  my  contact  with  the  soul  of  the 
people,  as  revealed  in  the  movement  which  is  making  us  a  sing 
ing  nation. 

Cornish,  N.  H., 
September,  1917. 


Ill— DESIGNS   FOR   "THE  EVERGREEN  TREE" 
BY  ROBERT  EDMOND  JONES 

The  drawings  in  this  book  will  prove  most  helpful  if  they  are 
thought  of  merely  as  notes  to  be  amplified  or  varied  according 
to  the  special  needs  of  each  community  production. 

Different  communities  will  develop  the  main  scheme  in  vari 
ous  ways. 

The  production  indicated  here  is  on  a  large  scale  in  the  open 
air;  but  the  arrangement  of  stages  and  aisles  is  equally  im 
pressive  in  the  smallest  church. 

Facilities  for  lighting  will  vary  widely  in  different  communi 
ties. 

Don't  be  discouraged  if  you  haven't  an  elaborate  electric 
equipment  at  your  disposal.  Think  how  beautiful  the  Masque 
might  be,  done  by  candle-light  in  an  old  country  meetinghouse! 

The  costumes  are  extremely  simple,  and  depend  largely  for 
their  effectiveness  on  the  dignity  with  which  they  are  worn. 

The  two  Choruses  wear  surplice-like  overgarments,  red  or 
white.  Elf  suggests  a  butterfly:  Gnome,  a  beetle:  Tree,  a  Fra 
Angelico  angel.  Wolf,  Bear  and  Lion  wear  masks,  rudely 
made,  like  mummers  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Wolfs  tail  is  at 
tached  to  a  belt,  which  he  pulls  from  side  to  side. 

78 


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DESIGNS    FOR    "THE    EVERGREEN    TREE" 


Nearly  all  the  other  costumes  consist  of  a  simple,  cloak- 
like  undergarment,  over  which  are  worn  tunics  and  robes  to 
characterize  the  Host  of  Herod,  the  Shepherds,  the  Followers 
of  the  Three  Kings,  or  the  Outcasts.  There  is  nothing  realistic 
in  these  clothes:  they  merely  suggest  the  characters,  broadly, 
as  if  they  were  made  by  children  for  a  child's  play.  They  may 
be  carried  out  by  any  dressmaker  in  inexpensive  materials — 
muslin,  cambric,  cheesecloth,  flannel — keeping  always  to  a  few 
brilliant,  flat  colors:  strong  red,  strong  blue,  black  and  white, 
gray,  and  orange. 

Make  these  costumes  yourselves:  use  your  own  ingenuity 
in  cutting  and  draping  them:  wear  them  with  a  sense  of  what 
each  costume  means.  Then  your  ceremony  will  be  beautiful. 

New  York, 
September,  1917. 


79 


ACTION  OF    "THE  EVERGREEN  TREE" 

ACTION  OF   "THE  EVERGREEN   TREE" 

The  Masque  is  performed  in  Twelve  Actions,  taking 
place  as  follows: 

First  Action:   Stage  A  (Chorus;  Speech). 
Second  Action:  Aisle  I  (Carol;  Processional). 
Third  Action:   Stage  A  (Carol;  Speech). 

Fourth  Action:  Approaching  Space  and  Steps  A;  then 
Stage  A  (Chorus;  Carols;  Speech). 

Fifth  Action:  Stage  B  (Chorus;  Speech). 
Sixth  Action:  Stage  A  (Chorus;  Speech). 
Seventh  Action:  Aisle  II  (Carol;  Processional). 
Eighth  Action:  Stage  A  (Carols;  Speech). 

Ninth  Action:    Stage  B  and    Aisle  I  (Choral    Song; 
Chorus;  Processional;  Pantomime). 

Tenth  Action:  Stage  A  (Carol;  Speech). 

Eleventh  Action:    Aisle  I  and  Aisle  II  (Choral  Song; 
Processional). 

Twelfth  Action:  Stage  A  (Chorus;  Speech). 

80 


ANNOUNCEMENTS 

IN  REGARD  TO  THIS  MASQUE 

THE    MUSIC 

for  the  Choruses  and  Carols  of  "The  Evergreen  Tree" 

has  been  composed  by 

ARTHUR  FARWELL 

and  is  Published,  with  the  Words  of  the   Same,  by 

THE  JOHN  CHURCH  COMPANY 
39  West  32nd  Street,  New  York  City.     Price  $1.50 

THE    PRODUCTION 

of  the  Masque  can  be  adapted  to  any  scale  of  expense, 
simple  or  elaborate,  and  to  any  practical  number  of 
participants,  few  or  many.  With  a  view  to  assisting  any 
community,  army  camp,  or  naval  station,  to  organize 
and  adapt  a  production  to  its  own  local  conditions, 

"A  GUIDE  TO  'THE  EVERGREEN  TREE/" 

a  Series  of  QUESTIONS  AND  ANSWERS  relating  to  all 
phases  to  the  Masque's  production,  has  been  compiled 
by  PERCY  J.  BURRELL,  under  sanction  of  the  Author, 
Composer  and  Costume  Designer,  and  will  be  sent,  by 
The  John  Church  Company,  on  request,  free  of  expense 
to  any  one  interested. 

No  PERFORMANCE  WITHOUT  PERMISSION  first  having 
been  obtained,  and  No  PUBLIC  READINGS,  where 
money  is  charged  for  admission,  can  legally  be  given. 

PERMISSION  MAY  BE  OBTAINED  to  produce 
this  Masque,  or  to  read  it  in  Public,  by  applying  to  the 
Masque  Organizer  of  "The  Evergreen  Tree,"  39  West 
32nd  Street,  New  York  (Care  The  John  Church  Com 
pany),  who  will  be  glad  to  supply  further  information 
and  to  arrange,  wherever  practicable,  for  personal 
conference  in  regard  to  productions.  (1) 

81 


F£B  6   1936 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


